For over a decade now, Christina Aguilera has essentially coasted on the “artistic merit” of 2002’s “Beautiful” (as there is nothing of the kind to be found in being a judge on a reality show), immortalized in Mean Girls by Damian’s (Daniel Franzese) talent show performance. As one of her most “serious” singles (even garnering the honors of GLAAD), the …
Music Video. | “Forget About Yesterday” | Ajay Mathur.
ritically-acclaimed for his innate artistry, Ajay Mathur, keeps reinforcing his musical legacy. The latest album from this Grammy-nominated singer / songwriter, Little Boat, proves that he continues to build upon previous professional success. Backed by the Swiss-based, Yakketeeyak Music, in the whimsical visual for “Forget About Yesterday,” Mathur makes heartbreak almost appealing. On the self-produced track, all the stages of a self-induced grief are …
Caveat Brings “Intelligent Nightlife” To The Lower East Side
The still somewhat quaint, Callery pear tree-lined Clinton Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side has served as an ongoing case study in urban advancement since the early nineties when it transformed from a drug-swirling hotbed to niche culinary destination. Molecular gastronomy pioneer Wylie Dufresne’s wd-50 led the gentrifying charge in many ways, but it was the restaurant’s late 2014 closing …
Sex and the City Isn’t As Irrelevant As Its Current Detractors (Sarah Jessica Parker Included) Are Making It Out to Be
As even Sarah Jessica Parker cowers to the juggernaut of gender fluidity and racial inclusivity that has rendered all pop culture offerings of the past utterly obsolete, one can’t deny that there are still many beacons of truth contained within the show that made daft white girls everywhere want to move to New York. And yes, Carrie Bradshaw (Parker) was the …
New Music. | “SSP” | Dice SoHo Ft. Ty Dolla $ign X Desiigner.
epping Houston, Dice SoHo, is tasked with establishing lyrical longevity. Earning the respect of sonic savant, Mike Dean, Dice has teamed up with Dean’s label, M.W.A. Perhaps this cunning move in creativity will help to launch SoHo’s burgeoning career in rhyme. Following the success of his risque single, “Giraffe,” the recent release of “SSP,” continues to thrust Dice SoHo into the limelight. An …
Rita Ora’s “Girls” Is Neither A Fitting Homage to “Lady Marmalade” Nor Genuine In Its Fair-weather Bisexuality
Long ago, during a time when George W. Bush was coming to the twilight of his presidency and presumably thinking about, well, not much of anything at all, Katy Perry was rattling conservative cages with something that was somehow still too salacious for mainstream consumption: two women kissing. Later, when we would find out that the narrative was inspired by Miley …
Music Video. | “Proud” | 2 Chainz Ft. YG x Offset.
lthough, The Play Don’t Care Who Makes It, dropped back in February, of the four-track EP, “Proud,” remains a stand-out. The incomparable 2 Chainz teamed up with both YG and Offset for this self-directed visual. What’s a better way to celebrate Mother’s Day? To bolster the matter-of-fact lyricism from these accomplished artists, respective cameos from their mothers heightens the overall ocular experience. Keep ya head on a swivel, as later …
Sara Driver: For Real
Sara Driver is one of the most relevant and underappreciated filmmakers of a generation. Take Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat, her documentary piecing together the life of an artist and friend before he became famous. Driver who has witnessed decay and regrowth in New York City since being a grad student at NYU circa Jim …
The Disgust One Feels Over Grimes’ Concession to Dating Elon Musk
Grimes (Christian name Claire Boucher) has never been known for folding to the what one would call the pressures of dating a douchebag once you become something of a pop star. Though she began as an under the radar MySpace musician starting in 2007, the level to which Vancouver’s own has ascended from lo-fi urchin to electronic powerhouse has been …
Music Review. | The Sandcastle King | Aya Maguire
olded by music since her childhood, Aya Maguire, has long been a student of sound. During her senior year in high school, the multifaceted musician — who brings to life guitar riffs, cello crescendos, and vocal gymnastics — truly began to hone her gift. Six years of growth is reflected within the initial effort, The Sandcastle King. This compelling and complete body of …
Liu Bolin X Ruinart at Frieze New York
Known as the Invisible Man, Chinese artist Liu Bolin is the latest contemporary artist to be commissioned by the House of Ruinart to collaborate on a creative project for the art world’s favorite champagne. Featured at art fairs around the world, Ruinart has a long history of working with artists and designers in residence to annually create a project that …
Music Video. | “This Is America” | Childish Gambino.
merica, the hypocrite! Sweet as apple pie, Childish Gambino’s latest offering — the Hiro Murai-directed visual “This Is America” — is delicious. Delectably distorted metaphors, both verbal and visible, represent the contrived Stepin Fetchin stereotypes that continue to plague these un-United States. Gambino demonstrates how pursued happiness is mocked by the Have’s asphyxiating ignorance and their misplaced fear. Melanated skin ignorantly associated with Sin continues …
This is America is Social Dissonance You Can Dance To
Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) This is how Langston Hughes begins his poem Let America Be America Again. I teach this poem at least twice a year in my …
The FRIEZE Phenomenon New York 2018
One arrives at the North or South entrance to FRIEZE, and once past security has the immediate sensation of light-soaked space in airy white tents, where walls sparely installed with wonderful artworks are high planes that seem to stand without support. While this spacial euphoria may be lost fairly quickly when one begins to circumambulate the color-coded divisions of the …
Art New York 2018 at Pier 94 (100-Photo Recap)
I swung by Art New York located by the Piers on the west side of New York City this past weekend to see if it would stand up to its sister fair in Miami. Its known as the affordable art fair so I figure I go act like a window shopper and I am glad I did. Check out some …
Dangerous Rhythms, Latin Jazz, and TJ English’s The Corporation
Best-selling author TJ English’s epic new Cuban true-crime thriller, The Corporation, is about to be made into a Leonardo DiCaprio-produced, Benicio Del Toro-starring Hollywood feature film. A frenzied bidding war produced a rumored seven-figure deal that was reached based on a 100-page proposal before the book was even written. TJ is celebrated for his studies of the Irish mob, including …
East End Collected4
On Saturday, March 31 the Southampton Arts Center opened its fourth East End Collected exhibition (East End Collected4). Artist Paton Miller has curated the exhibit since its inception six years ago. Mr. Miller, who had been approached by then-mayor Mark Epley, suggested showcasing the work of East End artists, borrowed from collectors. As a prelude to reopening the space that …
Frieze NY 2018 Highlight: Gert and Uwe Tobias at Rodolphe Janssen
A delightful highlight of Frieze NY this year is the french-blue painted booth by Rodolphe Janssen. Following suit in a series of twin artist collaborations like Doug and Mike Starn and Os Gemeos are works by identical twin brothers Gert + Uwe Tobias. Humming with the freshness of spring, fairy tale-inspired ceramics and woodcuts on canvas bloom in different sizes …
A Bird’s Eye View of FRIEZE New York
FREIZE New York ran for 5 days from Tuesday the 2nd through Sunday the 6th of May. The fair was founded in London in 2003 as a philanthropic project to promote contemporary art, an offshoot of the eponymous magazine, it has taken place annually in London in October. In 2012 FREIZE New York was opened in “bespoke” white tent structures, …
Darkness on the Edge of Town, a Frieze Recap
Highlight of the Day! Won’t you join me in the Pettibon Zone? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Nudes! Nudes! Nudes! (Ladies Edition) Richard Diebenkorn, Untitled (Reclining Figure), 1966/George Condo, Showgirl, 2008/Joan Semmel, Double Take, 1991 Jordan Nassar’s Embroidery Installation at Anat Ebgi Gallery I want artwork that reflects ME. Literally! This fair is making me hungry. Is that toast? Somebody …
Music Video. | “The Yield” | Kate Fenner.
aried experiences transform into wisdom on, Middle Voice. This is the third solo album from Canadian crooner, Kate Fenner. Currently based in New York City, the musician and mother uniquely employs her polished art to advocate a prime perspective. Over 10 selections constitute Kate’s robust effort. “The Yield,” offers familiar Folk yearnings which are amplified by an eased angst. Fenner beautifully conveys how …
I Came, I Went, I Came Again! Frieze Flutters and The Uncle Jerry Show
Nothing is free in life, in the end you pay for your pleasure with pain, heartache, and decay. Consider the art fair, a dinosaur whose fossil was unearthed and resurrected, Jurassic Park-like, on Randall’s Island this week, and whose lumbering stride threatens to trample everything that fails to hightail it out of its path. So come, go, and come again …
Best Booth at Frieze New York: Bill Beckley, the Eighties, Albertz Benda Gallery Booth SP21
Chelsea gallery, Albertz Benda featured a stunning exhibition of works by the American artist (and poet as we see it), Bill Beckley. A teacher at SVA and trailblazer who, many years ago, organized the first exhibition at the legendary 112 Greene Street Workshop in SoHo in 1972 with Gordon Matta Clark, Rafi Ferrer, Barry Le Va, Jeffery Lew, Bill Bollinger, and Alan Saret. Beckley’s …
Tefaf New York Spring 2018, Press Preview, Day 1 Photo Recap.
With the weather in New York finally coming around to Spring, I decided to go and check out TEFAF Art Fair press preview at the Armory. It was my first time attending TEFAF and was not sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised with the overall presentation, complimentary eats and most importantly the art. Check out some of the …
Music Video. | “New York” | Kachinga.
ife invested into rhyme, Kachinga, has successfully accomplished a once-daunting dream. The release of Sky Falling — the debut album from the Canadian creative — dropped earlier this year. Containing over 23 selections, the robust endeavor encapsulates the battle to discover peace between his tribulations and his triumphs. Below, check out the intimate visual for the Lava Cru produced, “New York.” To discover more …
Worst of List, Day 1, Frieze, New York
Randalls Island, New York—Quiet Lunch hit Frieze hard yesterday. And for the most part, loved every second. Except when we were sweating our fucking balls off the entire time because the AC wasn’t fuctioning. We also hated the new design layout of their massive tents. Why did they change on the previous year’s awesome design where the air, light and …
Music Video. | “Yellow Beamer” | Fih.
eyond dizzying sunshine and shiny stars, Fih, uses the “Yellow Beamer” visual to display her gift of rhyme. From the introductory EP, Four Colors Only, the LAid-back lyricist uses this second release and shares her perspective. Melodically maneuvering the nostalgic whirlwind of yesteryear’s ideals, Fih, offers a glimpse into her personal progression. Barred life becomes art; check it out. ” … No lies …
Institute of Arab & Islamic Art, Exhibition 3: Alex Ayed
New York—Exhibition 3 opened last evening at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art down on Howard street. Exhibition 3 is the title of the show featuring works by a young, 27-year-old, Brussels and Tunis based artist, Alex Ayed. Yet the title has absolutely nothing to do with the artist —or his work. At first glance, we thought maybe Mr. …
Music Video. | “Fleece” | Radio Galaxy.
ersonifing music’s universal appeal, Radio Galaxy, continues to thrive. Back in March, the Houston-based collective released its latest project, Nobody Digs Your Music But Yourself. Within this endeavor, the divine collision of four creative minds come together and create a wonderfully cohesive LP. Funky, Space-Hop, Future Soul, SpaceyFatNasty — whatever the chosen evocative adjective — Radio Galaxy is dope. “Fleece,” the initial offering …
Mel Frank: When We Were Criminals
“My method of intake is smoking a joint that I rolled,” says Mel Frank, the super-chill, 73-year-old ‘godfather of marijuana growers’ over the phone from his home in Los Angeles. “I like to roll myself because I know what I’m smoking. When you smoke a joint you get the full effects; the taste, the fragrance.” Mel Frank is not the man-the …
’77 Music Club
After Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize, the Washington Post blubbered that “Kids aren’t starting garage bands” anymore, and “Electric guitar sales are down 30 percent over the past decade!” Rock and Roll is not dead, former Rolling Stone writer Marc Weingarten declared, but it “continues to lose traction with anyone under 40,” and “it seems unmoored from its commitment …
Tribeca: It Wasn’t only a Film Festival
Driver Ed (the first three episodes now streaming on Vimeo – less than a ten-minute commitment) is a woke variation on witty web programming in the age of content overload. Ed is an all but agoraphobic introvert borderline recluse who has been in an online relationship for two years with the girl of his dreams who he’s about to meet …
Avengers: Infinity War- The Dark Superhero Movie We All Deserve
I’m about to come clean here. I am an Empire Strikes Back guy. You should know us by now. We are the pretentious idiots who swear up and down that ESB is one of the most important films out of the original Star Wars trilogy. I was seven when I first saw that film, and as the credits rolled, I …
NSFW: The End Of Love by Rebecca Leveille at The Untitled Space
“Things we perceive to be ideals are often built upon faulty, weak and diseased foundations set forward and reinforced by society and pop culture. We are made to fall in love with an arbitrary set of stereotypes, physical ideals or cultural goals that are twisted and often deeply damaging to us……what happens once we cross to the other side of …
Superfine! NYC Is Keeping It Real
There will be no metaphorical free lunches at this year’s Superfine! NYC, Alex Mitow and his partner, photographer James Miille’s fun and highly approachable art fair, which opens May 2nd in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. “After being involved with art fairs for about five years, I’m sick of the, ‘It’s going to bring a lot of people’ thing,” says the fast-talking, …
Ocean Art Week | Meta Gallery, Monaco
“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” -Jacques Yves Cousteau MONACO—The world-renowned French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, scientist, author, inventor, photographer and legendary seafarer was protecting our oceans long before others had realized just how important it is to do so. It was Jacques Cousteau, in his iconic, red-wool hat, who reminded us …
5 Things We Learned From the Westworld Season 2 Premiere (And 3 Things We Didn’t)
Sunday night was the premiere of “Journey Into the Night”- the first episode of the HBO hit show Westworld’s second season. The show’s writers (Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, and Halley Wegryn Gross) spent the better part of 2016 crafting an extremely tight story throughout the span of the first season. Weaving its characters through the vicious and violent world of …
Tribeca Documentary Review: Blowin’ Up
View PostTribeca Film Festival: Docs to Watch
Tribeca is probably one of the most curated film festivals in the best of ways for everyone but cinephiles who have to make a decision about how to be two places at once. For documentary junkies, you might as well put a blindfold on, spin around three times and pin a tail on the schedule. There are too many stand-outs …
Don’t Pass Over Pass Over
What do you get when you combine Waiting for Godot, current American race issues, and Biblical lore into a narrative that’s at times hilarious, suspenseful and quirky? You get Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over, produced in 2017 by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and directed by Spike Lee. The direction delivers the intensity of Nwandu’s play—given life by actors Julian Parker and Jon …
Allison Zuckerman: Sky’s The Limit
The young painter, no, the remixed-media collage artist or better yet, the hyper-meta art cannon image sampler, Allison Zuckerman, who experienced a wild, meteoric rise in the contemporary art world over the last year and a half, is ready to embark on the next and sure to be exciting chapter of her life and career. Last week, just one day …
Negotiating with Nature. (Film Review)
Negotiating with Nature fully captures today’s main issue: mankind’s current Weltanschauung clashes with the way nature works. Filmmaker Stefan van Norden has the lyrical objectivity and open-minded poetry to lead audiences through a narrative of awakening. This suave documentary is an ode to nature and a call to action for the natural environment’s renewal and survival of all living beings. …
Alfred Hitchcock meets Edward Hopper in 3D
Susan Leopold has been mesmerizing her audience with miniature visions of rooms and architectural spaces for decades. Intersections is a show of recent works, illuminated box constructions present dreamlike interiors conveying recollections of places commonly used. An attic, a backroom, a rehearsal space that is also used for weekly worship. Inspiration comes from places Leopold notices for their commonality, and …
Last Chance: The Orchid Show at The New York Botanical Garden, Through Sunday April 22, 2018
THE ORCHID SHOW Saturday, March 3, 2018 – Sunday, April 22, 2018 at The New York Botanical Garden Installations by Belgian Floral Artist Daniel Ost The long, chilly winter might not have brought much snow this year, but it’s a safe bet that everyone’s ready for some horticultural eye candy. Luckily, the New York Botanical Garden’s annual Orchid Show is …
“Tough Love” in The Bronx
“The Bronx used to mean, ‘be careful’,” said John ‘CRASH’ Matos, owner of the gallery, Wallworks, in the South Bronx. “If you were born and raised in the Bronx, and you were anywhere in the world, people would look at you, like, hmm, with a little hesitation. But it’s a special place.” Matos was a seminal figure in the New …