Volume 79, Number 7 | July 22 - 28, 2009
West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933

The A-List

Compiled by Scott Stiffler, Scott@thevillager.com

ART

Photo by Volodymyr Gritsik
“Dance” by Halyna Mazepa / 1956, oil on board

FINE ART/FOLK ART
“Fine Art/Folk Art: A Dialogue” features paintings and sculptures from The Ukranian Museum’s collection of costumes, embroiled textiles, ceramics and pysanky (Ukranian Easter eggs). As its name implies, this exhibit lets you view fine art and folk art (from this century and the last one) in a comparative setting. The hope is you’ll come out of it with an appreciation of the classic and the modern and the rich interaction between the two traditions. Through September 27, at The Ukranian Museum; 222 East 6th Street. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors. Bring all the children under 12 that you want; they get in free! Call 212-228-0110 or visit www.ukranianmuseum.org.

Photo by Seong Kwon, courtesy of Public Art Fund
“wall and door and roof” by Richard Woods (2009)

RICHARD WOODS
Since the late 1990s, British artist Richard Woods has been riffing on the sophisticated and the mundane by putting the one’s chocolate into the other’s peanut butter — and coming up with a singular work in which two tastes go great together. In this case, he’s transformed the gateway to City Hall by placing a printed brick façade on top of the property’s two security booths. The whimsically downscale renovation continues in the lobby — where a door is covered in a printed graphic which recreates the look of the very object it’s been employed to eclipse. Presented by the Public Art Fund and sanctioned by the mayor himself, “wall and door and roof” is an unexpected exercise in art and humor in an age where you can’t access public spaces without emptying your pockets and passing through a metal detector. It could only happen in New York (and possibly London, where Woods currently lives). At City Hall Park, through September. Free. For information, www.publicartfund.org.


FUNDRAISER

Photo by Marlis Momber
Meet and greet the cast at their upcoming fundraiser

THE IRON HEEL
$10 and two hours of your time is all it takes to become a patron of the arts. Dine, dance, schmooze and booze while you enjoy burlesque and musical entertainment. Come the fall, you’ll be able to say you played a hand in helping make “The Iron Heel” a reality. Set for a run at Theater for the New City, Elizabeth Ruf-Maldonado’s dance operetta is based on the futuristic, apocalyptic socialist novel by Jack London. With music by composer Arthur Abrams and a cast which includes Obie award-winners, it’s a pretty safe bet that the quest to fund this ambitious production will be time well spent. Thursday, July 23, from 6:00p.m. to 11:00p.m., at Sixth Street Community Center, 638 E. 6th Street (between Avenues B and C). $10 gets you in; the cash buffet dinner and bar further benefits this good cause. Call (917) 686-4793.

READING

Photo by Brendan Bourke  
Author Colum McCann

COLUM MCCANN
Irish writer Colum McCann’s newest novel (“Let the Great World Spin”) was inspired by Phillipe Petit’s 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. That daredevil victory — snatched from the jaws of easy, waiting death — moves the troubled characters in McCann’s story to confront and tame the dangerous dramas that threaten their own lives. Meet the author and hear him read excerpts from the book at this free event. Wednesday, July 29, 6:30p.m. at the Tenement Museum Shop (108 Orchard Street at Delancey). For information, call 212-982-8420 or visit www.tenementmuseum.org. For more about the author, www.colummccann.com.

MUSIC

Photo by Danny Clinch
Donald Fagen, left, and Walter Becker are the sublime Steely Dan

STEELY DAN
Although they’re not Village people (and their upcoming shows are taking place uptown), Walter Becker and Donald Fagan have burrowed their way into the hearts and minds of we here at The A List. Their potent mix of sophisticated, cynical, lecherous lyrics and breezy but complex musical arrangements defined the 70s (with hits like “Hey Nineteen” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”). On select nights, Steely Dan will perform updated takes on one of their classic albums (“Aja” “Goucho” or “The Royal Scam”) along with selected personal favorites. Other nights will feature audience requests made from Internet ticket buyers. Good to know they’re keeping up with modern times, even if the best of their most recent work (“Everything Must Go”) revels in sitting back and having a drink as the world goes to hell. July 28, 29, 31 and August 1, 3, 4, 10, 11; at The Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway (between 74th and 75th Streets). To purchase tickets, www.ticketmaster.com or 866-858-0008.