This week in New York Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood holds a reading series, Threepenny Review celebrates its thirtieth birthday, A Public Space throws a launch party for Issue 10, Paris Review holds a Fiction Salon, Meghan O’Rourke reads, Ryan McGinley shows some new photographs of more young naked people and the Guggenheim opens its “Haunted” show of mostly old but still good stuff.
MONDAY 3/29: A Celebration of The Threepenny Review. In celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Threepenny, started by Wendy Lesser in 1980, writers, including among others Mary Gaitskill, James Lasdun, Richard Locke and C.K. Williams, will gather to read fiction, essay and poetry. Wendy Lesser will introduce. McNally Jackson. 52 Prince St. 7:00pm.
Ada Limon and Meghan O’Rourke read at KGB. 7:00pm.
She and Him, one part Zooey Deschanel one part M. Ward, performs at Bowery Ballroom. 6 Delancey St. 8:00pm.
TUESDAY 3/30: Experimental folk rock bands Dufus and Huggabroomstik perform at Sidewalk Cafe. 94 Ave. A. 10:00pm.
Bluebeard (Barbe Bleue), film. A bloody, perversely chaste interpretation of the classic fairy tale from the director of The Last Mistress, Fat Girl and Romance, Catherine Breillat’s latest is set in motion when two young sisters come across the folk story in a book in the attic. Fascinated, they begin to read the tale of a poor young woman who sets her cap for a frightening, wealthy recluse — despite rumors he’s killed his previous wives. IFC Center. 6:20pm, 8:20pm, 10:10pm.
The Hart of London. This week’s installment of Light Industry’s ongoing film series of hard-to-find films is the painter Jack Chambers’s film involving barbaric experiments of retinal analysis involving cats. Legendary filmmaker Stan Brakhage said of Chambers, “The fact is that four films of Jack Chambers have changed the whole history of film, despite their neglect, in a way that isn’t possible within the field of painting.” Light Industry. 177 Livingston St. $7. 7:30pm.
WEDNESDAY 3/31: Open City presents the March KGB Reading with nonfiction by Bryan Charles (reading from Wowee Zowee, about the Pavement album), nonfiction and poetry by Greg Purcell and poetry by Dan Sofaer. KGB Bar. 85 E. 4th St. 7:00pm.
A Public Space Issue 10 Launch Party. Book Court. 7:00pm.
Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood Reading Series. Author and Open City Founding Editor Thomas Beller founded mrbellersneighborhood.com in 2000. The site publishes stories about New York City life that follow in the tradition of Joseph Mitchell and E.B. White—slices of life, portraits of memorable characters, scandalous encounters with public decadence and heartwarming displays of civil courage. Reading will be Abigail Frankfurt, Brent Shearer, Marilyn Horan, Patrick Sauer, Daniel Menaker. Happy Ending. 302 Broome St. 8:00pm.
THURSDAY 4/1: Paris Review Fiction Salon with André Aciman and Kenneth Calhoun. Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House. 58 W. 10th St. 7:00pm.
Anthology Film Archives presents musician John Zorn, who will provide a live score to a selection of short films by legendary experimental filmmakers Wallace Berman and Harry Smith. Among the films screened will be Berman’s Aleph, and Smith’s Film #23. Anthology Film Archives. $20. 8:00pm.
FRIDAY 4/2: Ryan McGinley: Everybody Knows this is Nowhere. Photographer Ryan McGinley’s show focuses on portraits rather than his usual subject of spontaneous-seeming images of young people doing free and “youthful” things like climbing trees naked or jumping off cliffs naked. Team Gallery. 83 Grand Street.
SATURDAY 4/3: Coney Island Circus Sideshow opening day. SIDESHOWS BY THE SEASHORE is the last place in the USA where you can experience the thrill of a traditional ten-in-one circus sideshow. Watch people eat glass and lit cigarettes, hammer nails into their noses, charm snakes and contort. Sideshows By The Seashore
1208 Surf Ave. $7.50. 1:00pm – 8:00pm.
Joseph Keckler at Joe’s Pub. In his solo debut at Joe’s Pub, performance artist and singer Joseph Keckler performs a special Midnight Mass, a performance in recognition of Easter weekend, centering on the themes of sex and death. Accompanied by violinist Dan Bartfield and a live band, Keckler performs a set of original songs from his forthcoming EP, interspersing blues dirges, operatic arias, and unusual covers of Siouxsie Sioux, David Bowie, and other chameleonic icons. Joe’s Pub. 425 Lafayette St. 11:59pm.
SUNDAY 4/4: Decalogue: Films You Can Count on Two Hands. This “exhibition as film festival” organized by Eve Sussman features works by 10 international artists and contemporary filmmakers whose work is recognized for its innovative approaches to narrative. Converting the gallery space into a cinema, with vintage theater seating and a state-of-the-art screening system, “Decalogue : Films You Can Count on Two Hands” will operate on a regular cinema house schedule with a new double featuring running continuously each week. Today, it’s Marcus Coates’s Radio Shaman and The Plover’s Wing (shown together at 2:20pm, and 4:10pm), and Jim Finn’s Interkosmos (2:55pm, 4:45pm). Winkleman Gallery. 621 W. 27th St. (bet. 11th & W. Side Highway).
ART: Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance. This new exhibition examines the unique power of reproductive media while documenting a widespread contemporary obsession with accessing the past. The works included in the exhibition range from individual photographs and photographic series, to sculptures and paintings that incorporate photographic elements, and to videos, both on monitors and projected, as well as film, performance, and site-specific installations. Guggenheim Museum. Fifth Avenue @89th St.
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Original Notable New York Illustration © André da Loba
Other images in order of appearance. Film still from The Hart of London (Jack Chambers, 1970); Matt K. (Ryan McGinley, 2010); Orange Disaster #5 (Andy Warhol, 1963).
