New York City

On May 8th, 2012, TAXIING BY THE ENTERPRISE…

Enterprise sitting on a 747 at JFK

…was a pretty cool thing to see as we made our way down the tarmac and spied the space shuttle casually hanging out on the back of a tricked out NASA 747 transporter – which had delivered it from DC a few days ago – and where it continues to rest as it awaits travel to it’s new home on the Intrepid Sea & Space Museum in NYC.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 8, 2012 | travel
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On April 15th, 2012, 155, 145, 135, 125, 116, 96, 86, 79, 72, 57, 42, 34, 23, 14…

looking down the Manhattan streets

…is the descending rhythmic order of the crosstown two-way streets striating Manhattan you experience in a special way while flying south along the island, looking down the tight rows of streets like crops from a speeding car, occasionally punctuated by those wider streets of that amazing grid – coming to us from the Commissioners’ plan of 1811 - which was especially appreciated while heading to Newark today.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 15, 2012 | New York City
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On April 10th, 2012, LEAVING NYC AND LANDING IN MSP…

sunset between leaving NYC and landing in MSP

…today brought a busy day running around the city, an evening flight, and a sunset on the way to Minnesota where I’ll be for a few days visiting family and having meetings and hoping for spring.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 10, 2012 | travel
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On March 4th, 2012, A CLEAR WARM WINTER NIGHT…

Northward L.A. view from deck of Glendale, Eagle Rock and the 2 Freeway

…after a hot sunny summer-like 80 degree day spent in shorts gardening is my prelude to a late night red-eye to NYC, and all of the early March weather it implies, making the day more special, and harder to leave home.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 4, 2012 | Los Angeles
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On February 29th, 2012, DAWN, WU, K8 AT THE 2012 WHITNEY BIENNIAL

Dawn Kasper, Murder At The Schindler House, 2003. Performance, Fritz Haeg's Sundown Salon, MAK Center, Schindler House, Los Angeles, 2003. Photograph by Karl Haendel

…are some of the old friends whose work I am especially jazzed to see at the show this year – just opening tonight – like Dawn Kasper‘s studio relocated to a gallery where she will work, nap, hang-out, receive the public, and generally occupy (who performed two of her “Evil Series” murder enactments at Sundown Salon events in 2003 – first at Salon #6 in the garden for Pipilotti Rist’s Instant Installations; and later at the Schindler House for Salon #9: Sundown @ Schindler); the installation and May 20th fashion show of K8 Hardy (who did a performance as the bobcat for Animal Estates #1 at the 2008 Biennial); and Wu Tsang’s Silver Platter room and Wildness feature film…plus plus plus eager for LaToya Ruby Frazier photos, Laura Poitras film, Charles Atlas sets, Oscar Tuazon installations, Michael Clark dances…

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By Fritz Haeg on February 29, 2012 | art
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On December 30th, 2011, FLYING OVER MANHATTAN ISLAND…

at home over Manhattan

…is an adrenaline producing high, nothing like it to get you really jazzed for some time on the streets and avenues, especially coming from LA but having lived in NYC in my 20′s, when I never felt more at home anywhere (like a comfortable old shoe), and probably never will again, in a way you never really can in LA, so in a strange way landing here always feels like coming home even though I haven’t lived here for almost 12 years.

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By Fritz Haeg on December 30, 2011 | New York City
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On December 5th, 2011, THE LENAPE EDIBLE ESTATE…

Lenape garden 30 months later

…was established in 2009 in front of the Hudson Guild community center at Elliott-Chelsea Houses near the corner of West 26th Street and Tenth Avenue with thirty edible plant species that the native Lenape people of the island of Manhattan would have been eating from as recently as 400 years ago – and being in the neighborhood this morning, I stopped by to check it out (since there is no particular family that takes care of it and eats from it – as with most of the other Edible Estate gardens - I have always been a bit concerned about it’s future prospects) where some plants had gone and others had arrived, but it was still looking good, and even a little wild – in a good way. (webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on December 5, 2011 | Edible Estates
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On December 4th, 2011, MAO MARATHON IN NEW YORK CITY…

Mao Marathon at the Jane Hotel

…at the Jane Hotel’s luxe comfy ballroom, where I found a spot on an old homey velvet upholstered couch, was an all afternoon performative reading of the entire text of of Frederic Tuten’s 1971 novel The Adventures of Mao on the Long March by over 70 people including Linsey Abrams, Michael Almereyda, Kurt Andersen, Laurie Anderson, Véronique Béghain, Ross Bleckner, Thomas Bolt’s, Cecily Brown, Lori Marie Carlson, Mary Ann Caws, Jerome Charyn, Clifford Chase, Michael Coffey, Lydia Davis, Mónica de la Torre, Jim Drummond, Deborah Eisenberg, Adam Ende, Barbara Epler, Francisco Goldman, Brad Gooch, Francine du Plessix Gray, Adam Green, John Haskell, Amy Hempel, Oscar Hijuelos, A.M. Homes, Richard Howard, Dakota Jackson, Ben Janse, Wayne Koestenbaum, Bettina Korek, Anne Kreamer, Paul La Farge, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Douglas Light, Phillip Lopate, Karen Marta, Patricia Marx, J.W. McCormack, Edward Mendelson, Gregory R. Miller, Hannah Tennant-Moore, Walter Mosley, Linda Norden, Sarah Paley, Robert Polito, Ernesto Quiñonez, Jonathan Rabinowitz, Dawn Raffel, Pedro Reyes, Rachel Rosenfelt, David Salle, Grace Schulman, Wallace Shawn, Aurelie Sheehan, Julie Sheehan, Geoffrey D. Smith, Iris Smyles, James Leon Suffern, Betsy Sussler, Lynne Tillman, James Traub, Lily Tuck, Edmund White, Andrew Zornoza - which just happened to coincide with my breezing through New York on the way to a few days in Princeton.

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By Fritz Haeg on December 4, 2011 | performance
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On September 24th, 2011, SECTION 2 OF THE HIGH LINE…

Sunday afternoon stroll on section 2 of the High Line

…extending north through New York’s east 20′s just opened in June and today was my first chance to take a stroll and check it out – continuing the brilliant experience of rising above the city streets, up in to another dimension where your idea of the city is permanently altered. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 24, 2011 | landscape
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On September 23rd, 2011, ‘LIVING AS FORM’…

'Golden Ghost (The Future Belongs To)' by Surasi Kusolwong at the Living as Form show

…the sprawling exhibition housed in the Historic Essex Street Market of over 100 socially engaged artists, projects, and collectives organized by Creative Time – including The Sundown Salon Unfolding Archive – just happens to open on my one night in town, a good chance to see the show and old friends…

The Living as Form archival exhibition is a vast collection of documentation of 100 socially engaged projects from the last twenty years and from locations around the globe. Invited artists, organizers, and groups include: Ai Weiwei; Ala Plástica; Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla; Lara Almarcegui and Begoña Movellán; Alternate ROOTS; Francis Alÿs; Appalshop; Claire Barclay; Barefoot Artists; Basurama; Marilyn Douala Bell and Didier Schaub; BijaRi; Stephen Biko and partners; Bread and Puppet Theatre; CAMP; Cemeti Art House; Mel Chin; Chto delat? (What is to be done?); Colectivo Cambalache; Phil Collins; Complaints Choir; Céline Condorelli and Gavin Wade; Cornerstone Theater Company; Minerva Cuevas; Cybermohalla Ensemble; Decolonizing Architecture; Jeremy Deller; Mark Dion, J. Morgan Puett, and collaborators; Fallen Fruit; Finishing School; Free Class Frankfurt/M.; Frente 3 de Fevereiro; Theaster Gates; Paul Glover; Josh Greene; Federico Guzmán and Alonso Gil; Fritz Haeg; Haha; Harlem (Election Night 2008); Jeanne van Heeswijk; Helena Producciones; Stephen Hobbs and Marcus Neustetter; Fran Ilich; Farid Jahangir and Sassan Nassiri, Bita Fayyazi, Ata Hasheminejad, and Khosrow Hassanzedeh; Kein Mensch Ist Illegal (No One Is Illegal); Amal Kenawy; Suzanne Lacy; Steve Lambert, Andy Bichlbaum of The Yes Men, and collaborators; The Land Foundation; Long March Project; Los Angeles Poverty Department; Rick Lowe; Mammalian Diving; Reflex/Darren O’Donnell; Mardi Gras Indian Community; Eduardo Vázquez Martín; Angela Melitopoulos; Zayd Minty; The Mobile Academy; Mongrel; Anthea Moys and Bronwyn Lace; Mujeres Creando; Vik Muniz; NSK (Neue Slowenische Kunst); Nuts Society; John O’Neal; Oda Projesi; Wendelien van Oldenborgh; Marion von Osten and collaborators; Park Fiction, part of the Right to the City Network Hamburg; Pase Usted; Piratbyrån (The Bureau of Piracy); Platforma 9.81; Public Movement; Pulska Grupa; Navin Rawanchaikul; Pedro Reyes; Laurie Jo Reynolds; Athi-Patra Ruga; The San Francisco Cacophony Society; Katerina Šedá; Chemi Rosado Seijo; Michihiro Shimabuku; Andreas Siekmann and Alice Creischer; Buster Simpson; Slanguage; Apolonija Sustersic; Tahrir Square (2011); Taller Popular de Serigrafía (TPS); Mierle Laderman Ukeles; Ultra-red; United Indian Health Services; Urban Bush Women; The U.S. Social Forum; Voina; Peter Watkins; WikiLeaks; Elin Wikström; WochenKlausur; Women on Waves. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 23, 2011 | art
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On May 9th, 2011, THE BILL CUNNINGHAM DOCUMENTARY…

the tiny spartan Carnegie Hall studio apartment bed of Bill Cunningham

…is in now in theatrical release, coinciding with my my short U.S. visit, which was welcome news since it is the film that I have been waiting for months to see – so off to the local Portland theater (the ‘Living Room,’ where the audience tucks into a full-on dinner while watching the movie, which I suppose is only slightly more tolerable than the typical noisy popcorn?) – and what a super story about a super fascinating man full of contradictions – his modest reclusive austerity versus the outrageous gregarious extravagance of the clothing of international fashion, street and society circles that consume him. (film website)

 

 

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By Fritz Haeg on May 9, 2011 | film
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On December 21st 2010, THE X INITIATIVE YEARBOOK…

X Initiative Yearbook by Mousse Publishing

…is the book just out from Italy’s Mousse Publishing, which documents the one year of exhibitions, installations, projects, and events at the temporary non-profit art space spearheaded by Elizabeth Dee with curator Cecilia Alemani that was housed in the former Dia building in New York City for which I produced the Fall 2009 project ‘Dome Colony X in the San Gabriels‘ – about which the  book includes some words and pictures. (more on X Initiative and Mousse Publishing)

“Part anthology, part diary, the book comes as a testament of one of the most important and original initiatives that came to embody and define a new approach to exhibiting art and engaging the public sphere during the recent recession—one that certainly did not spare the contemporary art world. X was a temporary platform that took over the glorious space of the former Dia Center for the Arts in Chelsea, New York, running for one year and presenting exhibitions, debates, screenings and events. Derek Jarman, Mika Tajima, Christian Holstad, Keren Cytter, Luke Fowler, Tris Vonna-Michell, Fritz Haeg, Jeffey Inaba, Hans Haacke, Arthur Zmiijewski are among the artists featured in The X Initiative Yearbook.

With an introduction by Elizabeth Dee, and contributions by Carlo Basualdo, Stuart Comer, Christoph Cox, Jeffrey Deitch, Alexander Dumbadze, Hal Foster, Liam Gillick, Massimiliano Gioni, RoseLee Goldberg, Ed Halter, Laura Hoptman, Chrissie Isle, Jeffery Inaba, David Joselit, Emily and Sarah Kunstler, Margaret Lee, Sylvère Lotringer, Kevin McGarry, James Meyer, Ceci Moss, Lee Patterson, Lindsay Pollock, Andrew Roth, Johannes Vogt, McKenzie Wark, among others.”

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By Fritz Haeg on December 21, 2010 | art, books
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On September 23rd, 2010, THE WELIKIA PROJECT…

an interactive map feature of the five boroughs on the Welikia Project website

…is announced by Eric Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society – whose Manahatta Project inspired some of my recent work including “Animal Estates 1.0: New York” at the 2008 Whitney Biennial and the “Lenape Edible Estate Manhattan” planted last year – and here is some info on the new project:

Ever wondered what New York looked like before it was a city?  Welcome to Welikia, 1609. After a decade of research (1999 – 2009), the Mannahatta Project at the Wildlife Conservation Society un-covered the original ecology of Manhattan, one of New York City’s five boroughs.  The Welikia Project (2010 – 2013) goes beyond Mannahatta to encompass the entire city, discover its original ecology and compare it what we have today.  Welikia (pronounced “WAY-lee-ki-a”) means “my good home” in Lenape, the Native American language of the New York City region at the time of first contact with Europeans. The Welikia Project embraces the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the waters in-between, while still serving up all we have learned about Mannahatta.  Welikia provides the basis for all the people of New York to appreciate, conserve and re-invigorate the natural heritage of their city not matter which borough they live in. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 23, 2010 | New York City
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On June 23rd, 2010, JAMES WINES…

Highrise of Homes by SITE (Sculpture in the Environment) and James Wines, 1981

…the great radical ecologically minded architect and artist of SITE has been a hero of mine since I first picked up his books as an architecture obsessed youth at my local public library, and this evening I was actually able to meet and hang out with him as we both participated in the conversation at the Horticulture Society to mark the release of Work AC’s previously mentioned new book “Above the Pavement – the Farm!: Architecture and Agriculture at PF1″ (for which I wrote the opening essay), plus I was also lucky enough to have time with another hero today, lunch with AA Bronson - previously mentioned here.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 23, 2010 | architecture
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On June 22nd, REDEYE…

sunrise over redeye jet

…is usually how I go from LA to NYC, as I am today, often just for a night and making the most of my first day with back to back meetings from early morning landing until night and then crashing.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 22, 2010 | travel
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On June 5th, 2010, “PERFORMANCE ART WORLD”…

Sonya Robbins of robbinschilds in "Layla and Sonya Go Camping," 2009

…is the new blog recently started by My Barbarian’s Alexandro Segade that features interviews with various performance artists, so far including Zackary Drucker, and Sonya Robbins of robbinschilds (who performed at Sundown Salon #19 in 2005). (the blog)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 5, 2010 | performance
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On June 3rd, 2010, “ABOVE THE PAVEMENT—THE FARM! : ARCHITECTURE & AGRICULTURE AT PF1″…

the cover of "Above the Pavement—the Farm! : Architecture & Agriculture at PF1" from Princeton Architectural Press

…is the book just out from Princeton Architectural Press (for which I contributed the forward “Above the People: The Meadow, the Vegetable Garden, the Apple Tree, and the Cow!“) by Dan Wood and Amale Andraos of Work AC about their Public Farm installed in the PS1 sculpture courtyard in 2008 – and there will be an event/discussion at The Horticulture Society in New York entitled “The Visionary Reloaded – New Scales of Operation in the Age of Information” on June 23rd at 6:30pm to mark it’s release (and that of the new expanded Edible Estates book) which will include a group that I am very much looking to spending some time with:

Dan Wood and Amale Andraos, WORK Architecture Company

James Wines, SITE

Majora Carter, Sustainable South Bronx;

Adam Michaels, Project Projects

Fritz Haeg, Artist

Moderator: Jeff Gordinier, Details Magazine, “Gen X Saves the World”

(more info at Princeton Architectural Press)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 3, 2010 | books, gardens
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May 30th, 2010, THE MOVEMENT RESEARCH SPRING FESTIVAL 2010: HARDCORPS…

Movement Research Spring Festival 2010: HARDCORPS

…begins it’s week of programming in NYC this Wednesday, curated by Walter Dundervill, Melanie Maar, Aki Sasimoto, and A.L. Steiner – check out the full schedule of events and workshops on their website.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 30, 2010 | dance
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On May 17th, 2010, RIDYKEULOUS…

a RIDYKEULOUS motto

…describe themselves thusly:

Alive since ’05, Ridykeulous is the collaborative effort of Nicole Eisenman & A.L. Steiner to subvert, sabotage and overturn the language commonly used to define feminism and lesbian art. Our efforts usually involve curation, intervention, publication, performance and highly-regarded affects on happenstance.

…and have published explicit sexy ‘zines, staged some brilliant outrageous super engaging lez-trans-queer nights of performance, plus a recent collective exhibition, and tonight they present a film in NYC, here is their open invitation to attend:

Dear friends we’ve accepted and ignored,

Ridykeulous is pleased to present the 80’s classic Times Square, a film Nicky E and UnkAL starred in when they were just tweens. Instead of wasting away those precious years watching Jo swagger around the set of The Facts of Life, Nicky and Pam (Steiner’s name had to be changed due to her involvement in the kidnapping of Patty Hearst) were making inroads into the world of high fashion with their garbage bag mini-dresses and rocking out on top of a marquee in Times Square.

There has never been a better time to be a teenage runaway then right NOW! Pop culture is suddenly awash in all things lesbian and runaways with films like The Runaways*. Ridykeulous misses the old Times Square, but this film is perhaps one of the best documents of the beautiful pre-Applebee’s squalor.

Although the film’s break-out hit single “Your Daughter is One” shocked our parents at the time, our highest high was quickly followed by a crushing low: nothing was more disappointing then the producers cutting out our sex scene, perhaps the hottest sex scene ever recorded on film between two Jews. Allegedly “permanently lost”, the sex scene is believed to have been spotted in the dusty bowels of the Lesbian Herstory Archives. At this VERY MOMENT, a small but not unattractive cadre of private investigators in wifebeaters are working up a sweat and moaning inappropriately as they “comb the stacks” to retrieve it.

As the trailer for our film stated in a gravely patriarchal voice, “Pam and Nicky found themselves on the streets of New York…now the whole city is gonna share their exhilaration.” Need more be said about this film and the trajectory of our lives? We think not.

Love, Ridykeulous

* it should be noted that Ridykeulous finds accepting Dakota Fanning as a “R/runaway” a ginormous stretch, even for those amongst us with the most advanced invaginations

Monday, May 17, 2010
8:00pm – 11:00pm
IFC Center
323 6th Ave. at 3rd St.
New York, NY

ORDER TICKETS

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By Fritz Haeg on May 17, 2010 | art
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On May 16th, 2010, AN ALL DAY PICNIC IN CENTRAL PARK…

looking down on Central park before decending in for picnic

…”until the rats come out” is the long-standing annual birthday ritual of native-NYC friend, and I’m always happy when I am in town for it like I am today- which was preceded by the treat of an aerial view of the park from a fancy CPW apartment just redesigned by some clever friends – and because of the heavenly weather all of the Manhattanites seem to be in the park getting as much sun as they can.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 16, 2010 | New York City
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On May 10th, 2010, SILVERSHED…

Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Lee Maida, and Jen Smith at Silvershed in NYC

…the Manhattan roof-top artist-run space opens Parallel Play this Sunday featuring Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Lee Maida, Jen Smith, presented by the previously-mentioned, L.A.-based Artist Curated Projects here are all of the details:

Los Angeles based Artist Curated Projects presents Parallel Play, a three-woman show, featuring the work of Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Lee Maida and Jen Smith. The work in Parallel Play considers the materiality of bodily effort and pleasure as it intervenes with craft, sexuality and politics. Communal strategies of dialogue and intervention inform the exhibition.

May 16 – June 5
Opening Reception May 16th, Noon to 3pm

Ginger Brooks Takahashi lives in Brooklyn, NY, maintaining a social, project-based practice. She is co-founder of LTTR, a queer and feminist art journal, and projet MOBILIVRE BOOKMOBILE project, a traveling exhibit of artist books and zines. She received her BA from Oberlin College, attended the Whitney Independent Study Program, and is a resident artist at Smack Mellon, 2008-9. Her work has shown in the following exhibitions recently: Shared Women at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, 2007; Exile of the Imaginary at the Generali Foundation, Vienna, 2007; and Locally Localized Gravity at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, 2007. She has presented public projects at the Serpentine Gallery, London, 2008; documenta 12, Kassel, 2007; Art Metropole, Toronto, 2007; and with Ridykeulous at The Kitchen, NY, 2007. She currently is touring extensively with her music group, MEN.

Jen Smith is a Los Angeles based artist. With her post punk band the Quails, she has played music halls, street protests and squats, made posters, zines and anti-war ephemera and recorded three albums. She received her BA in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park and her MFA from the University of California, Irvine. She is an experienced fermenter and pickler, and won the Arlington County Fair for best baked good by an adult for a peach pie in 1989.

Lee Maida lives and works between Brooklyn, NY and Emeryville, CA. Her work is a sensorial and social experimentation using the materials and methodologies of the textile tradition. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Textiles at California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA.

Artist Curated Projects (ACP) was conceived of by Eve Fowler and Lucas Michael. The goal is to support and nurture a community of artists –their projects and ideas– outside of a conventional art gallery or institutional venue; a space removed from the commercial  pressures often attached to the experience of showing/curating/viewing art. Shows are curated by artists, with the intention of creating a shared space where artists can develop their curatorial ideas, show the work of their peers, while promoting, engaging in dialogue and creating connections among artists from multiple disciplines and at different stages of their practice. ACP WEBSITE

Silvershed is an artist-run, indoor-outdoor contemporary art project-space in New York.
Hours: 12-6pm Friday & Saturday, and by appointment 646-322-3324

Silvershed
119 West 25th, PH
New York, NY 10001

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By Fritz Haeg on May 10, 2010 | art
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On April 23rd, 2010, CRUSH FANZINE’S NEW ISSUE: “THINGS I HAVE SEEN WITHOUT YOU”…

CRUSHfanzine's new issue: "Things I Have Seen Without You"

…is released tonight with a reception from 6-8pm at Envoy Gallery, 131 Christie Street, New York – the contributors include: Tom Burr, Lorenzo Martone, Janine Gordon, Ram Boneh, Casey Spooner, Desi Santiago, Arnaud-Pierre Fourtané & Didier Fitan, Slava Mogutin, and Fritz Haeg – I am such a FAN of the last issue featuring French actors – called “Acting French.” (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 23, 2010 | publications
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On April 18th, 2010, CENTER FOR URBAN PEDEGOGY (CUP) PRESENTS “FAST TRASH: ROOSEVELT ISLAND’S PNEUMATIC TUBES AND THE FUTURE OF CITIES”…

Fast Trash: Roosevelt Island's Pneumatic Tubes and the Future of Cities

…which opens this Thursday at Gallery RIVAA on Roosevelt Island and will be on view from April 22 – May 23 with more details below and on their website (by the way, you should probably know more about CUP, which is an amazing, pedagogically-progressive, hard-to-classify education organization – working with kids and schools across the city of New York to explore how the city they live in works and what it means to live there. (CUP website).

Ever wonder why you don’t see any garbage trucks on Roosevelt Island? Or why there aren’t smelly piles of trash bags on the street? Roosevelt Island’s garbage disposal is nearly invisible: the trash gets whisked away at 35 miles per hour through a series of underground pneumatic tubes. In fact, it’s so inconspicuous that few Roosevelt Islanders know it exists. CUP worked with students from Roosevelt Island’s The Child School to teach residents about their pneumatic system. After a visit to the Island’s processing facility, the crew created a handy User’s Manual and a poster that uses visual metaphors to explain the system.

Their work will be on display at the exhibit “Fast Trash: Roosevelt Island’s Pneumatic Tubes and the Future of Cities,” organized by Juliette Spertus with Project Projects.

Opening reception: Thursday, April 22, 6 – 9 pm. Gallery RIVAA, 527 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY
F to Roosevelt Island

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By Fritz Haeg on April 18, 2010 | art, education
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On April 16th, 2010, KEYS TO GRAMERCY PARK IN NEW YORK CITY…

New York's Gramercy Park on a blustery Spring morning

…gave us entry into this secret garden in the middle of New York – at the invitation of a friend who lives on Gramercy Park South (those who live on the park get keys) – what a rarefied piece of tranquil private green space.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 16, 2010 | landscape
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On April 8th, 2010, AT WNYC WITH WILL ALLEN, ANNIE NOVAK, SCOTT STRINGER…

Scott Stringer, Will Allen, Fritz Haeg, Annie Novak, and Leonard Lopate in conversation at WNYC's Greene Space for the launch of the new edition of "Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn" - photo by Alex Galan

…and myself in a conversation moderated by Leonard Lopate, about the possibilities for growing food in our cities, and New York in particular, at The Greene Space in lower Manhattan to celebrate the release of the expanded edition of “Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn” (Metropolis Books & D.A.P.), and at the end of the talk, the audience was treated to a delicious selection of fresh food  from local producers, selected by New Amsterdam Market, including: Beer by Jimmy Carbone – Jimmy’s No. 43; Cheese by Doug Ginn – Twin Maple Farm; Bread by Sarah Black – Fairway Bakery; Kombucha Tea by Rick Miller – KBBK Kombucha Brooklyn; and Pickles by Shamus Jones – Brooklyn Brine – such a fun night with some of my favorite people! see video of the conversation here. (special special thanks to Cory Reynolds, Alex Galan, and Eleanor Strehl at Distributed Art Publishers, Cerise Mayo of New Amsterdam Market, and Diana Murphy of Metropolis Books!)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 8, 2010 | agriculture, food, New York City
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On March 26th, 2010, ANNIE NOVAK OF GROWING CHEFS AND ROOFTOP FARMS…

Annie Novak helping kids with a corn husk craft project at the opening of the Lenape Edible Estate, 2009

…will be joining Will Allen (Growing Power), Scott Stringer (Manhattan Borough President), and myself in a conversation about the possibilities for publicly growing food in the most unlikely of places – on the streets where we live, in the middle of our cities, and in particular, in New York City – at WNYC’s Greene Space on April 8th to celebrate the release of the new expanded edition of “Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn” moderated by Leonard Lopate – she also prepared delicious food for the opening of the Lenape Edible Estate: Manhattan last fall – from the produce growing in the garden – which is how I first met this awesome urban farmer. (websites for Rooftop Farms and Growing Chefs)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 26, 2010 | agriculture, food
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On March 24th, 2010, KIOSK STORE IN NEW YORK CITY…

KIOSK store in NYC

…is a smart little store, a highly curated museum of modest global goods (my sister Emily turned me on to it) that is actually run by humans, with  everything they do having a real human voice and touch – which is hidden away on an upper floor of a Soho loft building on Spring Street selling, among many other things, Swedish nut creme,  German colored chalk, Italian metal tape dispensers, British door wedges, Norwegian cheese slicers, Swedish felt shoe inserts, and a book about crying, which is described on their website thusly:

“Weeping” / $7.00 / 4″ x 5.5″ / Paper / USA / CRYING ABOUT NATURE… Soon we won’t even have much to cry about as nature will be gone. Thoreau said boxing nature into parks was not a nature for him nor a nature for any man. Michael Kim’s first book is devoted to newspaper clippings of people crying. When I feel like crying I go to this book and either cry or I stop my whining. Nature can’t cry for itself, we all have to cry about it a little.

(website)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 24, 2010 | retail
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On March 11th, 2010, LAUGHING LOTUS YOGA CENTER…

Laughing Lotus Yoga Center is on East 19th between Fifth & Sixth Avenues in New York City

…is where I go for yoga when I am in New York (or in San Francisco) – I plan my schedule of meetings and appointments each day around the class that I want to go to – because it has a neighborhoody communal vibe, serious/challenging yoga classes, and fun teachers (one of them casually gave me a few quick and simple hand-stand pointers that made me levitate up with no problem after months of struggling), plus, if I am lucky enough to be in town on a Friday night they have a two hour midnight yoga class with live music – there is usually about five or ten minutes of chatty stuff at the beginning, but once that is over it really gets going. (website and a teacher, Bryn, answers some questions for the New York Times)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 11, 2010 | New York City
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On March 10th, 2010, SOUEN…

The Macro Plate at Souen

…is where I am at for lunch (the one at Prince & Sixth Avenue, though the one on 13th Street & University is equally good, but more crowded and less calm) – and if I had my way, where I would be for EVERY meal when I am in New York – and since I am vegan, and don’t eat pasta, bread or even tofu, this place is my food mecca – with really simply prepared macrobiotic dishes of  fresh vegetables and grains, and even though I try to be adventurous, I usually just end up getting the Macro Plate – Hijiki, beans, squash, broccoli, kale, and grain of the day with carrot or Miso sauce – which seems to be I all I ever want or need to eat (I even try to recreate it at home) – here is more info from their website:

Since 1971, Souen has been offering natural organic food to New York diners, with the foremost priority being to serve delicious meals in keeping with good health. We prepare our food simply and naturally, offering you the best quality grains, beans, and produce. No refined, chemicals, preservatives, meat or dairy products are used in our kitchen. We also employ traditional methods of preparation whenever possible to enhance the healthful quality and natural flavor of our food. With the increasing awareness of the connection between food, health and the environment, we continue our consistent effort to maintain and improve upon our high standards and Macrobiotic principles.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 10, 2010 | food
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On March 9th, 2010, LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER…

"Grandma Ruby & Me", 2007 © LaToya Ruby Frazier

…is a photographer from Braddock, Pennsylvania who presented her work as part of a panel discussion at NYU organized by Dean Daderko called “Through other Lenses” – in conjunction with the Grey Art Gallery’s exhibition “Downtown Pix: Mining the Fales Archive 1961-1991″ – also including Moyra Davey and my friend A.L. Steiner (whose WAGE activities I mentioned here) – Latoya’s work and words really moved me. (more photos)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 9, 2010 | art
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On March 8th, 2010, CROCUSES IN NEW YORK CITY’S CENTRAL PARK…

Crocuses pushing through the late Winter leaves in New York's Central Park

…are up, pushing through the late winter leaves…

Cultivation and harvesting of crocus was first documented in the Mediterranean, notably on the island of Crete. Frescos are extant at the Knossos site on Crete[3] as well as from a comparably aged site on Santorini.

The first crocus seen in the Netherlands, where Crocus species are not native, were from corms brought back from Constantinople by the Holy Roman Emperor’s ambassador to the Sublime Porte, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, in the 1560s. A few corms were forwarded to Carolus Clusius at the botanical garden in Leiden. By 1620, the approximate date of Ambrosius Bosschaert’s painting (illustration, below), new garden varieties had been developed, such as the cream-colored crocus feathered with bronze at the base of the bouquet, similar to varieties still in the market. Bosschaert, working from a preparatory drawing to paint his composed piece, which spans the whole of Spring, exaggerated the crocus so that it passes for a tulip, but its narrow, grasslike leaves give it away.

(more info)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 8, 2010 | gardens
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On February 24th, 2010, EMILY ROYSDON, KERRY TRIBE, LESLEY VANCE, ERIKA VOGT, PAE WHITE IN THE 2010 WHITNEY BIENNIAL…

2010 Whitney Biennial website

…previews today, and for the first time in it’s history, more than half of the featured artists are women – we can’t wait to see what they do. Here is the complete list of the artists: David Adamo, Richard Aldrich, Michael Asher, Tauba Auerbach, Nina Berman, Huma Bhabha, Josh Brand, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, James Casebere, Edgar Cleijne and Ellen Gallagher, Dawn Clements, George Condo, Sarah Crowner, Verne Dawson, Julia Fish, Roland Flexner, Suzan Frecon, Maureen Gallace, Theaster Gates, Kate Gilmore, Hannah Greely, Jesse Aron Green, Robert Grosvenor, Sharon Hayes, Thomas Houseago, Alex Hubbard, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Jeffrey Inaba, Martin Kersels, Jim Lutes, Babette Mangolte, Curtis Mann, Ari Marcopoulos, Daniel McDonald, Josephine Meckseper, Rashaad Newsome, Kelly Nipper, Lorraine O’Grady, R.H. Quaytman, Charles Ray, Emily Roysdon, Aki Sasamoto, Aurel Schmidt, Scott Short, Stephanie Sinclair, Ania Soliman, Storm Tharp, Tam Tran, Kerry Tribe, Piotr Uklański, Lesley Vance, Marianne Vitale, Erika Vogt, Pae White, Robert Williams. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 24, 2010 | art
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On February 17th, 2010, GUGGENHEIM GAY PARADE DOWN RAINBOW PAINTED RAMPS…

"Guggenheim Gay Parade Down Rainbow Painted Ramps" for the museum exhibition Contemplating the Void

…is my proposal on view in the Contemplating the Void show that opens at the Guggenheim Museum today. (webpage of other proposals)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 17, 2010 | art
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On February 15th, 2010, BUTT MAGAZINE…

BUTT Magazine Valentines Party visuals.

…my favorite periodical, queer or otherwise, posted pictures of their NYC Valentines Day party, and I’m wishing I could have been there. (Butt link)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 15, 2010 | publications
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