ART

ORANGE ON THE PAGE Christo and Jeanne-Claude sign copies of their book “On the Way to the Gates” (Taschen). “The Gates” are on view through Sunday. Friday, 4:45-8 p.m., Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th Street, 212-423-3500, free.

DEEP FREEZE Tony Stanzione’s site-specific sculpture “Cold Storage” consists of stacked steel bunk beds, bedpans, and pillows made of ice. Over the course of the exhibit, water that corresponds to the temperature outside will freeze as it runs over the 15-foot-tall structure. Through Monday, March 14, Friday-Monday, noon-6 p.m., Black & White Gallery, 483 Driggs Ave., between N. 9th and N. 10th streets, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-599-8775, free.

TIMES SQUARE MEMORIES Kodak estimates that nearly 100 million pictures are taken of Times Square each year. The exhibit “At the Crossroads of Desire” celebrates Times Square’s centennial with a selection of photographs from throughout its history. Photographs by Rudy Burckhardt, Weegee, Robert Frank, and William Klein are included. The show is organized chronologically within six themes: building and planning, “signs of the times,” the crowd, entertainment, fantasy and desire, and “making news.” Through Saturday, March 26, Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, noon-5 p.m., AXA Gallery, Equitable Tower atrium lobby, 787 Seventh Ave. at 51st Street, 212-554-4818, free.

FANTASY WORLDS UBU Gallery displays drawings made by troubled German artist Unica Zurn during the decade before her 1970 suicide in Paris. Born in Berlin, Zurn was fascinated by fantastical creatures and repeating patterns. She was encouraged by her lover, Surrealist artist Hans Bellmer, to experiment with “automatic” drawings that incorporated repetitive shapes and lines. Zurn was also an accomplished writer who is known for poems in which each line is an anagram of the last. Bellmer was best known for a scandalous series of photographs of dolls in sexual poses. Through Saturday, April 16, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., UBU Gallery, 416 E. 59th St., between York and First avenues, 212-753-4444, free.

AUCTION

MAKING HISTORY Swann Galleries offers an auction of African-Americana. Highlights include a signed letter to Alex Haley from Malcolm X (est. $12,000 to $18,000), the first oil painting by black Impressionist painter Alan Randall Freelon (est. $40,000 to $60,0000), and a typescript of the final Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, signed by five justices (est. $700 to $1,000). Preview: Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Gallery walk with specialist: Saturday, 3 p.m. Auction: Monday, 1 p.m., Swann Galleries, 104 E. 25th St., between Lexington and Park avenues, 212-254-4710 ext. 300.

BENEFIT

FEEL-GOOD AWARDS The “Books for a Better Life” awards celebrate the year’s “best self-improvement books,” in categories such as inspirational memoir, psychology, relationships, spirituality and wellness, and parenting. Nominees include “I Had Brain Surgery, What’s Your Excuse?”; “Persepolis 2”; “The Anatomy of Hope”; and the ubiquitous “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Meredith Vieira of “The View” emcees, and presenters include Karen Duffy, Irwyn Applebaum, and Soledad O’Brien. The awards dinner benefits the New York City chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Monday, 6 p.m., Millennium Hotel Hudson Theatre, 145 W. 44th St., between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, 212-463-7787 ext. 3016, $175.

BOOKS

ANIMAL INSTINCT Alison Smith reads from “Name All the Animals” (Scribner), her memoir about her brother’s death and how her family’s Catholic faith both aided and hindered their recovery. Friday, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Chelsea, 675 Sixth Ave. at 21st Street, 212-727-1227, free.

FICTION EVENING John Haskell reads from his short-story collection “I Am Not Jackson Pollack” (Picador) and Sam Lipsyte reads from “Home Land” (Picador), his novel in the form of a series of overly detailed update letters to an alumni magazine. Sunday, 7 p.m., KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St. at Second Avenue, 212-505-3360, free.

COMEDY

RIOT IN RINGLETS Alison Arngrim, who played villainous Nellie Oleson on the television show “Little House on the Prairie,” performs her one-woman show. The off-color storytelling session includes dishy gossip about her fellow child stars and behind-the-scenes insight into the show. The performance takes place at the venerable downtown club Fez, which will close in mid-March. Saturday, 7 p.m. doors open, 8 p.m. show, Fez Under Time Cafe, 380 Lafayette St. at Great Jones Street, 212-533-2680, $18.

DANCE

IT’S LIKE BUTTAH “Butter Melts Away My Letters” is a dark dance theater work about a group of young friends who share a two-floor loft space and try to make it in New York City. In this “anti-‘Rent'” version of the familiar story, they end up hustling. Gian Marco Lo Forte directs and Stephanie Rafferty is the choreographer. Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 2:30 and 8 p.m., La MaMa E.T.C., 74A E. 4th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-475-7110, $15.

DESIGN

CERAMIC SCENE The exhibit “Ruth Duckworth, Modernist Sculptor” includes work from the ceramic artist’s private collection, including stone carvings and maquettes that have never before been exhibited. The show also includes photographs of Ms. Duckworth’s large architectural murals and site-specific sculptures, and a video documenting her life. Through Sunday, April 3, daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursdays until 8 p.m., Museum of Arts & Design, 40 W. 53rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-956-3535, $9 general, $6 seniors and students, free for members and children under 12.

FAMILY

KAZOO TUNES Brooklynite Rob Goldberg, a history teacher at Saint Ann’s School, plays a children’s concert of banjo, guitar, and kazoo tunes. Saturday, 11 a.m., Freebird Books & Goods, 123 Columbia St. at Kane Street, Brooklyn, 718-643-8484, free.

WONDERFUL WORMS Sunday is slimy at the Museum of Natural History. The author of “The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms” (Algonquin), Amy Stewart, uses live specimens to demonstrate the importance of the everyday earthworm. Children can participate in a guided handling, and grown-ups will learn something, too. Sunday, 1 p.m., American Museum of Natural History, Linder Theater, first floor, Central Park West at 79th Street, 212-769-5200 for reservations, $6.

FILM

FIRST AND BEST Forget “The Aviator” – Film Forum presents screenings of “Wings,” a 1927 big-budget airplane story that won the first Academy Award for Best Picture. Clara Bow stars as a woman in love with a World War I pilot played by Buddy Rogers (Friday and Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m.). It’s shown as a double feature with “Seventh Heaven,” for which Janet Gaynor won the first Best Actress award for her role as a Parisian woman whose love affair is interrupted by the war. Frank Borzage took home the Best Director statuette and Benjamin Glazer won for Best Adapted Screenplay (Friday and Saturday, 4:40 and 9:35 p.m.). The films are screened as part of the “Oscar’s First Year” series highlighting the movies of 1927 and 1928. All screenings: Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street, 212-727-8110, $10 general, $5 members and children under 12, $5 seniors on Monday-Friday before 5 p.m.

DIGITAL FEATS Alexander Sokurov’s 95-minute movie “Russian Ark” (2002) was filmed in one continuous shot. He set his story in the Hermitage Museum and used 2,000 extras and three live orchestras (Saturday, 2 p.m.). The screening is followed by “Time Code” (2000), Mike Figgis’s experiment that followed four stories at once by splitting the screen into quadrants (Saturday, 4 p.m.). The films are screened as part of the “Digital Masters” series focusing on how digital photography is changing moviemaking. Both screenings: Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Avenue at 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, 718-784-0077, $10 general, $7.50 seniors and students, free for members.

DOMINICAN DAY Leon Wolfe’s documentary “Santo Domingo Blues” is screened this weekend in celebration of Dominican Independence Day. The film follows guitarist and singer-songwriter Luis Vargas, seen through the Bachata blues style that made him famous. Saturday, 3 p.m., El Museo del Barrio, Teatro Hecksher, 1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th Street, 212-660-7132, $7 general, $5 seniors, students, and members.

OSCAR PARTY Makor celebrates the Academy Awards by showing the broadcast on four screens, providing food and drinks, and raffling off prizes. Sunday, 7:30 p.m., Makor, 35 W. 67th St., between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, 212-415-5500, $12.

UNION STORY Traveling Cinema screens the 1926 film “The Passaic Textile Strike,” which tells the story of a strike by 16,000 Eastern European workers against “starvation wages and for the right to organize.” The strike lasted 37 weeks and led to the acceptance of the textile union into the the American Federation of Labor. Live music accompanies the screening. Josh Camp of One Ring Zero plays piano and accordion and Ben Holmes of Klezmer Kabarett plays the trumpet. Monday, 7 p.m., Barbes, 376 9th St. at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-965-9177, free.

HISTORY

AID TO ISRAEL An exhibit at the American Jewish Historical Society explores how the Hadassah Medical Organization helped create a medical infrastructure for Israel. “A Lifeline for Israel” traces Hadassah’s history between 1913 and 1967 through photography and artifacts. Through April 30, Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Center for Jewish History, American Jewish Historical Society, 15 W. 16th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-294-6160, free.

MUSIC

SOVIET PACIFIC The Pacifica Quartet performs the work of Soviet composer Nicolai Roslavets (1881-1944). Soprano Elizabeth Farnum and pianist Margaret Kampmeier accompany the ensemble. Friday, 8 p.m., Columbia University, Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, 212-854-7799, $20.

AMERICAN MUSIC Lincoln Center’s “American Songbook” series presents Ann Hampton Callaway hosting “Cafe Society.” The cabaret show features Barbara Carroll, Steve Ross, and Julie Wilson. Friday, 8:30 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall, Allen Room, Time Warner Center, Broadway at 60th Street, 212-721-6500. $30-$60.

BETTER WORLD The Winard Harper Sextet performs at a concert that includes jazz, blues, and spirituals. The nonprofit Better World Chorus, which presents the concert, asks that attendees bring a few cans of food for donation to City Harvest. Saturday, 8 p.m., Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, 86th Street and West End Avenue, 212-613-6367, $20.

HOMELESS HEARTS The Brooklyn Philharmonic performs a companion concert to David Michalek’s photography exhibit “Fourteen Stations.” The program focuses on visual and musical representations of homelessness. It features Haydn’s “Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross,” Kevin James’s “Oh To Bring Joy to the Face of Another,” and madrigals composed by the New York street performer Moondog (aka Louis Hardin). In the exhibit, Mr. Michalek replaces the figure of Christ in the stations of the cross with a different man or woman who was recently homeless. He gives a gallery talk before the concert, which is part of the “Music Off the Walls” series (2 p.m., free). Sunday, 3 p.m., Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway at Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-488-5913, $15 general, $10 seniors and students.

ORIGINAL ORIXAS The band Orixas fuses sounds from Nigeria to Brazil, using horns, guitars, drums, and the occasional homemade instrument. Sunday, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 Fourth Ave. at President Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-857-4816, $12 at the door, $10 in advance on www.gowanus.com, $8 students, ages 18 and above.

PAINTING

REFLECTIVE ‘SURFACE’ Richard Hickam’s paintings are on display in “Beyond the Surface” at Allan Stone Gallery. At left is “Francois the Flirt” (2004) and above is “Watchman” (2004).The expressionistic portraits also include “The Scholar,” bearded and bored; “The Tenor,” massaging his vocal chords, and “The Teacher,” grinning in a suit and tie. Mr. Hickam’s first solo show at the gallery was in 1975, when he was painting photo-realistically. Through Saturday, March 26, Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Allan Stone Gallery, 113 E. 90th St., between Lexington and Park avenues, 212-987-4997, free.

READING

REMEMBERING ARTHUR MILLER The “Food for Thought” series of luncheons paired with theatrical readings presents a tribute to Arthur Miller. Miller’s sister, Joan Copeland, joins Eli Wallach for a performance of the playwright’s one-act drama “I Can’t Remember Anything.” Monday, 12:30 p.m. lunch, 1:30 p.m. reading, National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, between Irving Place and Gramercy Park West, 212-362-2560, $49, business attire required.

STORIES

JUMPING JEHOSAPHATS Monologist Mike Daisey hosts a “story slam” competition sponsored by the Moth. The theme is “leaping” – off curbs, over frogs, or into new relationships. All are welcome to bring their best jumpy stories to recount on stage. Each story should be five minutes long, no notes are allowed, and organizers say that contestants should stick to the theme and tell a story that has both a conflict and a resolution. Monday, 7 p.m. registration, 7:30 p.m. show, the Bitter End, 147 Bleecker St., between Thompson Street and La Guardia Place, $6.

TALKS

FILM FRIENDS Director Richard Linklater talks with Ethan Hawke as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s “Great Collaborations” series. Monday, 8:30 p.m., Museum of Modern Art, Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1, 11 W. 53rd St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-708-9400, free with museum admission, $20 general, $16 seniors, $12 students, free for members and children under 16.

IMMIGRATION INSIGHT Writer Pete Hamill gives a lecture titled “What New York Can Teach the Rest of the World.” He explores how immigrants have contributed to New York, and how those lessons can be applied to nations struggling with immigration issues. Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., NYU Hemmerdinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East at Washington Place, 212-998-8100, free.

THEATER

CLOWNING AROUND The Undermain Theatre in Dallas brings a production of Jeffrey M. Jones’s “A Man’s Best Friend” to New York. The play follows a clown gone bad – Sluggo smells terrible, kicks his dog, and picks on his little brother. He also receives a baby from Andy Warhol and battles a squid. Tom Lenaghen stars as the demented clown and Bruce DuBose plays Warhol, Sluggo’s mother, and other characters. Katherine Owens directs. Opens: Friday. Runs: Through Saturday, March 19, Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Walkerspace, 46 Walker St., between Broadway and Church Street, 212-352-3101, $15

TWO BY PINTER The T. Schreiber Studio performs the Harold Pinter plays “The Homecoming” and “The Birthday Party” in rotating repertory. One performance will include food, wine, and a talk with the cast, crew and director (“Birthday”: Saturday, March 5, 8 p.m., $50). Through Sunday, March 13, Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m., Sunday performances vary, T. Schreiber Studio, 151 W. 26th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-352-3101, $15 general, $10 seniors and students, $20 for two Saturday productions.

TOURS

REVOLUTIONARY NEW YORK Bowery and Canal Walking Tours presents a stroll focusing on New York’s place in the American Revolution. Sunday, 1 p.m., meet in front of the Museum of the Native American, Bowling Green and Broadway, 212-979-8013, $12 general, $10 seniors and students.

KING OF QUEENS Urban planner Laurence Frommer leads a tour of downtown Flushing, Queens. The Municipal Art Society tour focuses on the area’s ongoing development. Sunday, 1 p.m., meet in front of the RKO-Keith Theater, Main Street and Northern Boulevard, Flushing, Queens, 212-935-3960, $15 general, $12 members.

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