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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.

Each design was neighborhood specific, ranging from “The Old Times Square” (above), to “The Hipster” (of a guitar), “The Wall Street” ($ Sign), “The Jersey” (a car, right near the Lincoln Tunnel), “The Villager” (a dog), “The Coffee Cup,” “The MoMA,” “The Ladies Mile,” (a high heel shoe).

A NYC resident decided to spend a weekend tracking all of them down (a map is available on Byrne’s website), writing “We ventured from Wall Street to Times Square and from Williamsburg to the Hungarian Pastry Shop.  I’m so glad that this was done in NY and that I live in NY…hope you enjoy my little trip in search of the bike rack.” These were photographed in 2008, so we’re not sure they are all still installed, but we did personally capture the one in Times Square.

Get in touch with the author @untappedmich. Have a quirky find you want us to publish in Daily What?!? Contact us at info@untappedcities.com or submit to us on Twitter with the hashtag #DailyWhat.

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Arts & Culture
05/21/13 4:00pm

Taraz, Kazakhstan: A Silk Road City Through an Artpologist’s Eye

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Locals in Taraz, Kazakhstan.

Locals in Taraz, Kazakhstan, with whom the Artpologist Collective will collaborate.

An artist imagines and creates; an anthropologist studies cultures. In cities throughout America, Central Asia and now Kazakhstan, there will soon be hybrid, the “artpologist,” who uses visual representation to understand people and their cultures. Founded in 2007 by U.S.-based anthropologist Zhanara Nauruzbayeva and artists Daniel Gallegos (an Untapped contributor), Gaisha Madanova and Aminatou Echard, The Artpologist Collective aims to combine art and anthropology in social practice art that uses visual mediums to explore urban landscapes. After establishing successful projects in Central Asia and the U.S., Nauruzbayeva is returning to her hometown of Taraz, Kazakhstan. Through a new Kickstarter project, she and Gallegos hope to collaborate with Taraz-based art teacher Gulnara Kospakova and her students to rediscover their city and tell its story. In the long term, the collective aims to compare how people’s backgrounds mold urban spaces around the world.  (more…)

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Architecture
05/21/13 2:00pm

Saving NYC’s Vintage Diners: Moondance, Cheyenne, Empire Diner & the Lost Diner

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It’s always exciting for us at Untapped to see the passionate work of residents get the spotlight. Michael Perlman, chair of the Rego-Forest Preservation Council, is one of those New Yorkers who has taken his fascination for urban quirks and history towards a greater mission–in his case, preservation. Last week, Michael’s work saving the diners of New York City was featured a piece by Eric Jaffe in The Atlantic Cities, chronicling his (often successful) quest to find buyers for iconic diners like the Moondance and Cheyenne diners. He’s also been trying to save the Empire Diner in Chelsea and the abandoned Lost Diner/Lunchbox Diner on West Street.

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Architecture
05/21/13 1:00pm

Untapped Mailbag: Where Can You Film An Apocalpyse Movie in NYC?

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Ellis Island Southside Hospital

Ellis Island Southside Hospital

We love hearing from readers in our Untapped Mailbag, especially when they have questions like, “Where can I film a TV show with an apocalypse v. man story line?” In our answer, here’s a sampling of the spots we suggested:

Ellis Island Southside Hospitals: There isn’t much creepier than an abandoned hospital. This one has old incinerators, medicinal bottles, surgical wards and more.

Fort Totten: This Civil War fort is particularly apocalyptic for the inscriptions soldiers carved into the walls while stationed here.

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Architecture
05/21/13 12:00pm

The Grand Rex Art Deco Cinema in Paris

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Grand-Rex-Paris-Kala-Court-17

We usually go to the cinema and let a film transport us into another world and time. But at The Grand Rex, simply entering its doors is a trip back to history in itself.

Mythical and extravagant, this huge Art Deco cinema was conceived by Jacques Haik, a Tunisian-born film producer and one of the pioneers of French cinema, known to have introduced Charlie Chaplin to the French film audience. Already the owner of the Olympia music hall, he had something grander in mind: a cinema that could seat thousands, in a space spanning 2,000 square meters.  With the help of French architect Auguste Bluysen and engineer John Eberson, famous for his North American “atmospheric theaters”, The Grand Rex opened to the public in December 8, 1932.  (more…)

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Architecture
05/21/13 11:00am

Untapped Secrets of Central Park: What Wasn’t In The Plan

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Belvedere Castle Central Park photo by Rachel Fawn Alban

 In 1858, the City of New York held a design competition for Central Park. The winning plan, by Frederic Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, was named ‘the Greensward Plan’ and featured an English style landscape with meadows, lakes, hills, winding pedestrian paths, and many trees to block the view of city buildings.

Over the years, the park has evolved from the original plan due to changing administrations and in response to the changing needs of New Yorkers. In this post, we look at some quirky and surprising details in the park that were not a part of the original Greensward Plan, yet have become a part of its history and character.

Pictured above is Belvedere Castle which was built to overlook the rectangular Croton Reservoir. In 1931, the reservoir was drained and the site developed into today’s Great Lawn.

Where to find it:  Mid-Park from 79th to 85th Street.  (more…)

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Arts & Culture
05/21/13 10:00am

Daily What?! Find George Washington’s Tooth in Fraunces Tavern, NYC

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Image via New York Insolite Secréte

Image via New York Insolite Secréte

We previously covered Fraunces Tavern on Pearl Street, where George Washington gave his farewell address in 1783, in our roundup of Presidential Haunts in New York City. But did you know Fraunces Tavern is also home to one of George Washington’s teeth and a lock of his hair? Washington had one tooth left when he was sworn in as the first President of the United States, and this solitary tooth was holding together a set of dentures made of cow’s tooth, gold, Washington’s teeth and ivory of a hippopotamus.  (Contrary to a popular misconception that he had wooden dentures).

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Architecture
05/21/13 9:00am

A Watertower Speakeasy Hits Chelsea

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Watertower Speakeasy_Night Huron_Chelsea_Wanderlust

Yesterday The Atlantic Cities and Curbed broke the news of a Watertower Speakeasy in Chelsea–that’s right, a speakeasy IN a watertower. For urban buffs, this is probably the ultimate New York experience, up close and personal inside those ubiquitous characters of the city skyline. The six-week event was produced by N.D. Austin under the organization The Night Heron. Austin is also involved with Wanderlust Projects, an urban exploration group partnered with our friends at Atlas Obscura.

In true speakeasy style, invitations were only had through a previous attendee (similar to another favorite event of ours, The Dîner en Blanc), passed on to new attendees through the gift of a pocket watch. Guests entered into the space via a trap door cut into the watertower and a stage was built inside. The series was deliberately not held in Brooklyn, to keep the “hipster quotient” low, aiming for attendees of a variety of backgrounds and economic levels, mixing high-profile celebs with “struggling artists in threadbare jackets.”

Sadly, the watertower is now closed but you can sign up for the lists of both The Night Heron and Wanderlust Projects to stay in the loop for future events.

Get in touch with the author @untappedmich.

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Arts & Culture
05/21/13 8:00am

At Aksel Paris, Soho Fashion Meets Soho Art

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Aksel Paris_Untapped Cities_Lead

You’ll probably walk into Aksel Paris at 311 West Broadway thinking that it’s just another Soho fashion store, but a pleasant surprise awaits those who enter—this high-end shirt shop doubles up as an art gallery as well. Be it the Gregory Okshteyn-designed bright orange, 3D-printed, wave-like rack displaying the store’s fine garments, or British artist Saroj Patel’s intricate mural crawling over the store’s walls, one can easily tell that this is not just another Soho shop.

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