Anne Pasternak: The Brooklyn Museum’s Clear Choice

Pasternak FeatureBy Ellen Gilbert 

The first things you see when you visit the Brooklyn Museum’s current website are a stylized image of the late Brooklyn-born artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s face and, immediately below it, a larger, looking-you-in-the eye headshot of arts advocate Anne Pasternak, who is about to assume the museum’s directorship.

Basquiat, who died in 1988 at the age of 28, is currently the subject of Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks, what the Museum is calling “the first major exhibition” of some of “the numerous notebooks with poetry fragments, wordplay, sketches, and personal observations ranging from street life and popular culture to themes of race, class, and world history.” Although it is specific to Basquiat, this is probably an apt description for the nature of the work ahead for Pasternak, who is 50.

Now housed in a five-story McKim, Mead & White building dating back to 1893, the roots of this venerable institution can be traced even further back to 1823, when the Brooklyn Apprentices’ Library to educate young tradesmen was founded.  (Walt Whitman would later become a librarian there.) Today it includes a collection of more than a million works and a full-time staff of 308, including 20 curators and departments from ancient Egyptian to contemporary and feminist art.

Although she is the first woman to head one of the city’s two “encyclopedic art museums” (the other is the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Pasternak already has female counterparts in high places, including Caroline Baumann at the Cooper Hewitt, Holly Block at the Bronx Museum, Thelma Golden at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Claudia Gould at the Jewish Museum, Jessica Morgan at Dia Art Foundation, Lisa Phillips at the New Museum, Laura Raicovich (also formerly of Creative Time) at the Queens Museum, and Miwako Tezuka at the Japan Society Gallery. more

Ernest Hemingway Exhibit at The Morgan Library and Museum

The Morgan Presents the first major museum exhibition of the life and writings of Ernest Hemingway

From September 25 through January 31, The Morgan Library and Museum will present Ernest Hemingway: Between Two Wars. This is the first major museum exhibition devoted to the work of Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), one of the most celebrated American authors of the 20th century. Organized in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, it includes multiple drafts of Hemingway’s earliest short stories, notebooks, heavily revised manuscripts and typescripts of his major novels—The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. more

The Met’s Artist Project

Metropolitan Museum Launches Season 3 of The Artist Project, an Online Series Featuring 100 Artists and Works of Art at the Met That Spark Their Imagination

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has launched Season 3 of its online video series The Artist Project, in which 100 artists respond to works from the Met’s vast collection, which spans more than five millennia and cultures throughout the world. Season 1 of the series launched in March 2015. more

Dwell on Design New York City 2015

Manhattan’s largest design event, Dwell on Design returns to NYC this October

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

From October 2-4, the Skylight Clarkson Square in West SoHo will be overtaken by Dwell on Design New York, curated by the editors of Dwell magazine. With more than 35 onstage presentations, attendees have the opportunity to experience a summit-like discussion about architecture and design’s role in our modern world. more

Clio Newton

“I have known for as long as I can remember that I was going to be an artist.”

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

Images courtesy of Clio Newton

While most 26 year olds are still trying to decide their longtime careers, Clio Newton has had it figured out since she was a little girl. She would be an artist.

Newton’s self-assuredness came as a result of her art-filled childhood in Madison, Connecticut. Her dad, a steel sculptor, and her mother, a farmer and photographer, would have Newton shadow them as they worked on their designated projects. more

Rebecca Louise Law: Floral Phenom

See how the British artist’s inspiration comes into full bloom

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

There’s nothing more eye-catching than a vibrant bouquet of flowers – except, of course, when there’s over 16,000 flowers of 14 different species hanging from the ceiling of an entire room. Just ask British artist Rebecca Louise Law, the woman behind the breathtaking “Flowers Outside: In Encased” exhibit that was featured in the lobby of the Viacom headquarters in NYC this past January. more

Richard Estes MAD Exhibit

See the quintessential NYC artist’s work at MAD Museum

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

American artist Richard Estes’ work is on display at the NYC Museum of Art and Design (MAD) until September 20, 2015. The exhibition includes a full range of Este’s paintings and works on paper including his photographs, silkscreens, and woodcuts that capture the breathtaking architecture and sensory overload that is NYC. Since 1958, when he first moved to NYC from Chicago, Estes has become one of the leaders in the Photo Realism movement. After taking dozens of photographs of the city, Estes would cut and paste them together in order to assemble the perfect scene to recreate with his paints. His art features his knack for painting reflective surfaces and light and capturing the cityscape at multiple angles. Below, MAD Museum provides a sampling of some of Estes most recognized artworks.

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Mindfulness Meditation at the Rubin Museum of Art

By Taylor Smith

Practice the art of "diving within" (as David Lynch would say) at the Rubin Museum of Art with weekly meditation sessions offered by master meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg and others from the New York Insight Meditation Center.

The Rubin Museum is also pleased to offer a podcast of each weekly practice. Click here, to access the podcast on your mobile device or computer.

Upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Schedule for September 2015: more

Nicholas Roerich: The Master of Mountains

By Taylor Smith

The Nicholas Roerich Museum is housed in a stately, yet subdued building in New York’s Upper West Wide. The Russian-born painter and spiritualist explored the mystic qualities and majesty of Russia, the Himalayas, and Central Asia. more

MAD Museum’s “Pathmakers” Exhibit

Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today at The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York, considers the important contributions of women to modernism in postwar visual culture. In the 1950s and 60s, an era when painting, sculpture, and architecture were dominated by men, women had considerable impact in alternative materials such as textiles, ceramics, and metals. Largely unexamined in major art historical surveys, either due to their gender or choice of materials, these pioneering women achieved success and international recognition, establishing a model of professional identity for future generations of women. more

China Lifts International Travel Ban For Zodiac Sculptor Ai Weiwei

By Linda Arntzenius

After a four-year ban that prevented him from all international travel and kept him from visiting Princeton in 2012, Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has had his passport returned to him.

Last week, Mr. Ai posted a photo of himself on Instagram holding the document, which had been confiscated by Chinese authorities following the artist’s outspoken remarks on number of national scandals, including collapse of badly-constructed schools during a 2008 earthquake.  more

The Rise of Sneaker Culture

The Brooklyn Museum’s newest exhibition is a sneakerhead’s dreamland

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

We’ve all heard of coin collectors, stamp collectors, and even rock collectors, but what about sneaker collectors? Known as “sneakerheads,” these connoisseurs live for limited edition, rare, or exclusive sneakers. And since July 10, they’ve been swarming to Brooklyn Museum’s newest exhibition, The Rise of Sneaker Culture.  more

Time Taken

The London-based Michael Hoppen Gallery announces esteemed photographer, Simon Norfolk’s third exhibition of photography from August 3rd – September 8th.

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

“The winter snow marches up to summer peaks and then slowly returns, like the gentlest of waves lapping on a lakeshore. The surface of a field rises when it is full of crops and falls again when it is harvested. When the branch of a tree is full of sap it is heavy and it leans, in the autumn it is lighter and it ebbs” (Simon Norfolk). more

The Art of Science

See how synthetic biologist Tal Danino is giving a whole other meaning to the term “petri dish” by combining art and science

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

L.A. native Tal Danino is no stranger to science. In fact, with B.S. degrees in physics, chemistry, and math from the University of California, a Ph.D in bioengineering from the Systems Biodynamics Laboratory at the University of California in San Diego, and a current position as a postdoctoral fellow at The Rockefeller University in New York City, Danino is more of a science expert. But not only does Danino have a knack for all things science, he also has a flair for art. more

Frida by Ishiuchi Miyako

An intimate view of Frida Kahlo’s wardrobe and belongings through photographs at the Michael Hoppen Gallery in London

Sarah Emily Gilbert

After Frida Kahlo’s death in 1954, her husband, Diego Rivera placed her belongings in the bathroom of their Mexico City house, which later became the Museo Frido Kahlo. Rivera wanted to keep the room sealed until 15 years after Kahlo’s death, but it wasn’t actually opened until 2004 when the museum decided to have Ishiuchi Miyako photograph the over 300 unseen items from Kahlo’s room for the Frida exhibit. more

The New Whitney Will Make You Smile

By Linda Arntzenius

Photography by Nic Lehoux

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s move from the Upper East Side to the once gritty meatpacking district constitutes a seismic shift in Manhattan’s cultural scene and further confirms the city as a safe, family- and tourist-friendly place to visit. The first large-scale museum to take up residence downtown, the Whitney’s new $422 million nine-story building by architect Renzo Piano opened May 1. What the Upper East Side was in the mid-sixties, when the Whitney opened its Marcel Breuer-designed building on 75th Street and Madison Avenue, is now to be found south and west of Chelsea and the West Village. more

“Curiouser and Curiouser”

Alice at 150

By Ellen Gilbert

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s (a.k.a. Oxford mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and there are many opportunities to celebrate the work, which along with its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, is quoted (and misquoted) almost as frequently as Shakespeare. The celebrations will be world-wide; here are some that will take place close to home. more

An Eye For Art

See how makeup professional and Internet sensation, Tal Peleg transforms her eyelids into stunning works of art

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

You could say that young Israeli makeup professional and social phenom, Tal Peleg was born with an eye for art. In fact, she’s transformed her eyes into art by creating miniature masterpieces on her eyelids using eye shadow, eyeliner, and small appliques.  more

A Man of Letters

The esteemed calligrapher and Instagram sensation, Seb Lester reveals the poignant story behind his success.

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

When I discovered London artist and designer Seb Lester’s (@seblester) account on Instagram, I also uncovered a place of peace. I would feverishly search through my Instagram feed to watch one of Lester’s art videos so as to put myself in a calligraphy-induced trance. The effortless swoops and swirls of Lester’s letters immediately removed me from my external environment and into an overriding calm. Apparently, I’m just one of a million. more

Portraits of the New Architecture II

See how architectural photographer, Richard Schulman is capturing the faces behind the world’s most beautiful buildings

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

Images by Richard Schulman

Unlike paintings and other forms of art that are produced directly from hand to canvas, architectural designs require an intermediate step: construction. And while we may be left awestruck by the sleek enormity of a skyscraper or the matchless ambiance of a building, we often forget the brilliant architect behind its conception. more

Ralph Pucci: The Man Behind the Mannequin

The venerable mannequin designer tells Urban Agenda about his retrospective exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design.

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

“A repair company in the basement of [my parent’s] home in Mount Vernon to a museum in NYC.”

This is how Ralph Pucci describes the extraordinary evolution of his family business, Pucci Mannequins. Since taking over the company in 1976, Pucci has transformed his family name into a globally renowned brand with a stronghold on the fashion industry. Armed with a visionary eye and a deep understanding of the complex history that surrounds the mannequin, Pucci has changed the way we see these bona fide clothes hangers both literally and figuratively. more

Editor’s Pick

Weekly home and design picks from our Editor, Lynn Adams Smith

Oyster Gathering $125

Oyster Gathering $125

Original paintings by James Squeakie Stone

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High Art: Public Art on the High Line

Director in Chief Curator of High Line Art, Cecilia Alemani, takes Urban Agenda through “the definitive book on the first five years of High Line art.”

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

Known as “the park in the sky,” the High Line has transformed into more of “a museum in the sky” thanks to the non-profit conservancy group, Friends of the High Line. Since 2009, they have raised funds to create a rich collection of art installations along the reclaimed elevated freight rail line that intersects New York’s Meat Packing District and Chelsea. The result of their efforts is a park meets public art gallery that is just as limitless, accessible, and awe-inspiring as the open air that surrounds it. With six million annual visitors and universal recognition, the High Line has become a symbol of the art-infused revitalization and gentrification efforts that are sweeping urban areas. As a way to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the High Line art program and extend the life of its yearlong art installations, the Friends of the High Line released their Skira Rizzoli book, High Art: Public Art on the High Line. more

The McGill Sisters – Fashion Photography Pioneers

By Ellen Gilbert

"A flock of girls just arrived at arrived at our house,” Frank McLaughlin told friends on September 22, 1919. While not exactly “a flock,” the new arrivals were a multiple: identical twin girls named Frances and Kathryn. They grew up to be known as Kathryn Abbe and Frances McLaughlin-Gill, and became remarkably successful photographers who published pictures of high fashion models and celebrities like the young Jacqueline Bouvier in the late 1940s and 1950s. They passed away within months of each other in 2014. The McGill sisters were born in Brooklyn as a result of their having arrived two months early and “were snugly wrapped and placed near a warm oven,” according to a later account by Frances. She couldn’t have remembered, of course, and the affluent Connecticut upbringing that immediately followed suggests that the humble modesty of that description may not exactly have been accurate. Photographs of the twins as beautifully outfitted babies, young bathing beauties, visitors to 1939 World’s Fair, and later, as on-location professional photographers, show them to be as glamorous as any of the subjects they depicted over the years." more

The Hand of the Artist

By Ilene Dube

When sculptors want to make something large, and they want it fast, they go to The Digital Atelier.

Last year, visitors lined up at the former Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to view A Subtlety, Kara Walker’s homage to the African American slaves who built the sugar industry. Her giant white sphinx coated in 40 tons of sugar towered over its visitors at 75 feet tall. This was the first sculpture for the artist, a 1997 MacArthur Fellow previously known for two-dimensional silhouettes. The sphinx, with exaggerated African features, was accompanied by 15 “sugar babies” – molasses boys bearing baskets of bounty. more

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall/Bring Up the Bodies Arrives on Broadway

By Taylor Smith

Photographs Courtesy of the Royal Shakespeare Company

Writer Hilary Mantel has claimed the Man Booker, Olivier, Tony, and BAFTA Awards for her novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Working with dramatist Michael Poulton and director Jeremy Herrin, Mantel brings the story of Henry VIII and his lascivious Tudor Court to the New York Stage.

The play has already experienced several sold out runs in London’s West End and opened on April 9, 2015 on Broadway. A BBC TV version is also currently being filmed. The play is broken into two parts to reflect Mantel’s two separate novels; Wolf Hall serves as Part I and Bring Up the Bodies as Part II. more

Flight of the Butterfly

By Ilene Dube

In its 17th year, the Butterfly Conservatory at the American Museum of Natural History joins such long-running family traditions as visits to the skating rink in Rockefeller Center and the model boat races in Central Park.

After passing the large dinosaur skeletons in the lobby, visitors go through a series of double doors to the Butterfly Conservatory, or vivarium, a 1,200 square foot freestanding transparent structure where they are surrounded by up to 500 fluttering, iridescent lepidopterans feeding on tropical nectars from flowers and lush green vegetation. There may be polar vortices outside, but here in the Butterfly Conservatory, it’s a tropical 80 degrees. more

Food Glorious Food: The New York Public Library’s Menu Collection

By Ellen Gilbert

Photos Courtesy of New York Public Library

If they are not already familiar with it, foodies, chefs, historians, sociologists, graphic artists and many others are likely to be enchanted when they find out about the New York Public Library’s restaurant menu collection.

The tens-of-thousands of documents, mostly from the mid-19th century through the present, are housed at the library’s main branch at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. New York City is represented most prominently, but the collection is international in scope. It includes elaborate cartes du jours and wine lists from famous old restaurants like Delmonico’s; lists of meals available to 19th century riders of particular stage coach lines (departure and arrival times included); lavish menus from ocean liners, as well as more homely news of local church suppers. more

Tiffany Triumphant – The Most Famous Store There Is

By Ellen Gilbert 

Photography by Ricky Zehavi

"The more I do, the more people want,” says Richard Moore, Tiffany & Co.’s current vice president of creative and visual merchandising. He is more than happy to oblige.

Moore’s job includes year-round responsibility for the look of no less than all the windows and display cases in Tiffany’s more than 200 retail stores around the world.  New York City at holiday time has an especially magical aura, and Moore’s window designs at Tiffany’s flagship store at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street can always be relied on to do their part with extravagance and panache. more

Isabel and Ruben Toledo: What’s Love Got to Do With It?

By Ellen Gilbert 

Photos Courtesy of The Toledo Archives

"I have never seen two other people with so close a symbiotic relationship." - Valerie Steele

They’ve been described as “fashion’s two-for-one couple;”  “creative alter-egos” who enjoy a “poetic partnership.”   What’s love got to do with it?  Everything. Now in their early 50s, Isabel and Ruben Toledo have been in the fashion/art/design business for nearly 30 years, and their work just gets more intriguing: beautifully executed, completely original, and, as a rule, quite unexpected. Their lives—how they look and dress, and the atelier where they live above their studio—seem to intersect seamlessly with their work. more