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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 4:00pm

Yarnstorming by Knit the City Brightens London

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If you haven’t heard of yarnstorming, we’re here to enlighten you. The website of its perpetrators, Knit the City defines it as “the art of enhancing a public place or object with graffiti knitting.” Also called yarnbombing, the streets of South London were treated to knitted flowers, bees, and beaming suns this spring, continuing into summer. The four girls behind London’s lifted spirits operate secretly, knitting, releasing their creations upon needy street corners.

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 2:00pm

Revolutionary War Re-Enactments on Long Island

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Re-enactment of the Battle of Ft. Salonga (courtesy of the Huntington Militia)

Re-enactment of the Battle of Ft. Salonga (courtesy of the Huntington Militia)

The South may be known for Civil War re-enactments, but Confederates aren’t the only ones who relive their battles. The Revolutionary War will be brought back to life on Long Island, with a model encampment by the The Order of the Ancient and Honorable Huntington Militia on June 1 at the Manor of St. George in Brookhaven, NY. The Order is a replica of the colonial militia that was established in Huntington, New York in 1653. Its members include locals of all ages who re-enact 18th-century American life, from Revolutionary War battles to daily activities such as carpentry and weaving. During the Revolution, the Manor of St. George was occupied by British soldiers and in 1780 was the site of one of the few battles to take place on Long Island. The free event on June 1st (open to adults and children) will re-stage the occupation with historic re-enactors, period trades and an open campfire.
Get in touch with the author @catku.
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Events
05/22/13 2:00pm

Top Ten Ways to Spend Memorial Day in NYC

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MemorialDayTopTen

A member of the Coast Guard participates in last year’s Memorial Day events. Photo courtesy of  USCG News. 

Who doesn’t love Memorial Day weekend? The sun is (usually) shining, the weather is just rounding the corner of hot and hotter, and the city air is thick with the smell of rooftop barbecues. Street fairs and parades clog almost all of the main avenues, and the sidewalks swarm with sweaty tourists. (If you’re not a fan of bumbling tourists, you’ll really want to avoid the Midtown West area–the popular neighborhood heads up the the list of the top 50 Memorial Day destinations in the U.S., according to a recent Priceline.com analysis).

So perhaps not always the seasoned New Yorker’s favorite holiday. Still, there’s a lot of fun to be had, if you know where to look. Here is our round-up of this year’s top ten places to celebrate the national Memorial Day holiday in NYC.

1. Green-Wood Cemetery’s Annual Memorial Day Concert. Shrug off the grave undertones of the holiday by listening to the mellow ISO Symphonic Band as you lounge in the shadows of the lush trees in this beloved Brooklyn hang-out.

2. Free Top Gun screening on the U.S.S. Intrepid. Feeling patriotic? Nothing says “Yeah America!” like hanging out on a retired battleship as the sun sets over the Hudson, watching the latent homosexual tension unfold between Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer as they compete for the elusive title of Top Gun. Plus, it’s free.

3. Opening of the “Civil War and American Art” exhibition at the Met. If you’re a art or history buff, or even if you just want to go someplace where you can beat the heat on Memorial Day, why not check out the Met’s new exhibition of paintings and photographs exploring the country’s reaction to our most fraught domestic conflict.

4. Down some new brews at the Eatalian Beer Festival. If you’re just looking for an excuse to drink, you might check out the Eatalian Beer Festival, at Eataly restaurant in midtown. Though technically Monday is the last day of this weekend-long Italian craft beer tasting extravaganza, it might be worth your while to wait until Memorial Day, if only to avoid the onslaught of day drinkers elsewhere.

5. Free NY Philharmonic concert at the Church of St. John the Divine. If you’re interested in partaking in some high culture this Memorial Day, but you don’t feel like stretching out in a graveyard, the NY Philharmonic Orchestra is hosting a free concert in the massive cathedral. Tickets will be handed out on a first-come-first-served basis starting at 6 PM.

6. Laugh out loud at Upright Citizen’s Brigade’s Summer Blockbuster Spectacular. The famed NY improv institute will be spending this Memorial Day cracking jokes about all the summer movies we’re looking forward to (and the ones we’re dreading).  Tickets are $5.00 at the door, and the show starts at 9:30 PM.

7. Check out some new music at the Red Bull Music Festival events. A must for all EDM (electronic dance music) fans, the Red Bull Music Academy offers two events this Memorial Day–first, an exclusive talk with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, and then a special concert at the Sullivan called “Deviation,” featuring artists like Benji B, Dorian Concept, and FaltyDL. Hurry, though–tickets for these events are going fast.

8. Experience the performance poetry of Rudy Francisco and the award-winning Joshua Bennett. If you’re looking for a more intellectual evening, chill out in the smooth, sophisticated belly of (Le) Poisson Rouge as you listen to these two celebrated poets present “A Gentleman and a Scholar,” their joint poetry reading. Tickets start at $15, and doors open at 7 PM.

9. Try out a foreign film screening. If all the patriotism has got you down, you can find an escape by attending the screening of the acclaimed Egyptian film, Microphone, at BAM’s Rose Theater, or by checking out the Chinese films, San Yuan Li and Disorder, included in MoMA’s film series, Chinese Realities/Documentary Visions. Prices and showing times vary.

10. Join NYC’s dining elite at an Underground Eats event. If you’re looking to make new friends this Memorial Day, why not request an invite to NYC’s semi-exclusive foodie social club? On Memorial Day itself, Underground Eats is hosting a meatless Peruvian supper club event, but if you’re feeling more daring, you might check out Saturday’s craft beer tasting and sailboat adventure. The only catch? You have to be approved for membership before you can sign up for the events. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Get in touch with the author @kellitrapnell.

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Architecture
05/22/13 1:00pm

Parco dei Monstri: Italy’s Renaissance Park of Monsters

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Bomarzo Parco dei Monstri Rome Untapped Cities E Ryan 11

In the northern section of the Lazio region, lies the village of Bomarzo and its wondrous Parco dei Monstri.  Accessible chiefly by car, the park is 60 miles north of Rome.

Parco dei Monstri was built between 1572-74 by Pier Francesco Orsini, known as Vicino Orsini. Orsini called the park his “boschetto” or little wood.  It was most likely created by Pirro Ligorio, a prominent architect and garden designer who also designed the Villa D’Este in Tivoli, near Rome.  Very little is known, however, about the sculptors themselves.  The figures are carved from tufo, the volcanic rock that blankets this section of Lazio.  A soft stone, tufo is easy to sculpt and rough-hewn in appearance. The scale is, well, monstrous and the figures loom in mute poses of victory, agony or imperious reverie.  Now mossy and softened with age, many still bear traces of their original paint.  Dragons snarl, Neptune reclines and nymphs beckon in this garden of unearthly sites.  (more…)

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Architecture
05/22/13 12:00pm

The Getty Museum Showcases LA’s Mid-Century Architectural Innovation

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Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by Welton Becket & Associates. Source: Getty Museum

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by Welton Becket & Associates. Source: Getty Museum

Do we need anything more than the gorgeous J. Paul Getty Museum itself to illustrate the fact that Los Angeles is a a critical center for architecture? We didn’t, but for the skeptics, the museum is showcasing extra proof of it. Through mid-July, Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future will be on exhibition at the Getty Center Exhibitions Pavillion.

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 11:00am

Art Nerd NYs Street Art Hotspots: PS Os Gemeos

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There is at least one work by the Brazilian twins Os Gemeos left in New York (not counting the splasherized ones in Williamsburg. Their collaboration at PS 11 with graffiti legend Futura still overlooks the playground a few blocks before the gallery madness of Chelsea takes over.

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Image © Lori Zimmer, Art Nerd New York

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 10:00am

The Modern Man: Roaring 20s Inspired Barbershop in Portland, Oregon

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Mad Men PDX

With the release of the new The Great Gatsby movie, the Roaring ’20s are making a full-fledged comeback, even in the corner of America  known as Portland, Oregon. Walking in the door of the vintage barbershop, The Modern Man, visitors will leave behind the hustle and bustle of the digital era and enter into another era.  “My bet is that they will never have visited a shop like ours before and that’s what we want,” said The Modern Man founder Chris Espinoza. A time when flappers roamed the streets smoking cigarettes, jazz was king, and speakeasys were the place to be during the Prohibition Era. “This is where a kid becomes a man,” said barber Chase Danielle.

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 9:00am

ICP Triennial Pushes the Boundaries of Photography

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ICP Triennial Untapped Cities

If you’re looking for cutting-edge work in photography and video art, the International Center of Photography (ICP) is the place to go. Their fourth Triennial, A Different Kind of Order, opened on Friday and it showcases work by some of the best and brightest contemporary artists. The curators, Kristen Lubben, Christopher Phillips, Carol Squiers, and Joanna Lehan, took digital modes of creation as a given and set out to create a show that would push the boundaries of photography to see how far it can go.  (more…)

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 8:06am

Daily What?!: Betty Boop Bike Rack in Midtown

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NYC Bike Rack-David Byrne-Betty Boop-Midtown-44th and 7th-Untapped Cities

David Byrne Bike Rack “The Old Times Square” on 44th Street and 7th Aveue

This awesome bike rack wasn’t actually inspired by Betty Boop, but we like the alliteration of Betty Boop Bike Rack. It’s actually part of a series by artist David Byrne (from the Talking Heads) in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation and Pace Gallery. As an avid cyclist, David was invited to join a city design competition for bike racks and later submitted his own designs which the city agreed to install.

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