ART

STRIKING DOWN P.J. Merola’s performance art piece “Zeitgeist” features live solo percussion, stereo video displays, and electronic music. It is based on Mr. Merola’s personal reactions to social myths, and is featured in a limited run at the Access Theater. Tonight through Sunday, 8 p.m., the Access Theater, 380 Broadway at White Street, fourth floor, free. RSVP at zeitgeistnyc.com.

LITTLE BOY BLUE “I am what is around me” is a new installation of 20 life-size ceramic figures of adolescent boys by Elise Siegel. The installation depicts the torsos, arms, hands, and heads of children mounted on wheeled metal frames. Siegel created her figures by building up the clay in coils. She then cut them at the shoulders, wrists, and necks before firing. Through Saturday, June 9, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Nancy Margolis Gallery, 212-242-3013, free.

IMPRESSION, SUNRISE The Wildenstein & Co. Gallery presents “Claude Monet: A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff,” an exhibit of more than 60 paintings by the Impressionist culled from public institutions and private collections to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The show, which honors the late and highly influential art dealers, is the largest retrospective of Monet’s work to be held in New York in more than 30 years and spans the length of his career. Through Friday, June 15, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Wildenstein & Co., 19 E. 64th St., between Fifth and Madison avenues, $10 general, $5 students and seniors.

A TOUCH OF NIRVANA The Japan Society presents the opening of “Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan,” an exhibit of 47 Japanese and Chinese works painted between the 13th and the 16th centuries. The exhibit explores the origins and traditions of painting associated with Zen Buddhist communities during an era of singular artistic merit. In many of the works, Buddhist monks are depicted in spirit-infused states, whether sleeping, dreaming, walking, or reaching enlightenment. Since World War II, there have been only two large-scale shows mounted on this subject outside Japan. Through Sunday, June 17, Tuesday–Thursday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St., between First and Second avenues, 212-832-1155, $10 general, $8 students and seniors, free to members and children under 16.

COAST TO COAST London-based Greek artist Emi Avora and New York artist Julia Kunin join forces in the exhibit “Against Nature.” The title is taken from a 19thcentury novel by Joris-Karl Huysman, which describes elements of decadence, taste, and beauty from the perspective of the narrator, Des Esseintes. Through Friday, June 22, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, the Crown Building, 730 Fifth Ave. at 57th Street, 212-445-0444, free.

NEO-GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents the opening of an exhibit of new paintings by a German artist, Neo Rauch. The show includes 14 paintings that feature Mr. Rauch’s distinctive industrial palette. The works depict a parallel world of hypertrophied humans, for which the acclaimed 47-year-old artist references Surrealism, public murals, and the heroic 1950s workmen and women of Eastern bloc political posters — all elements of the socialist realist aesthetic of communist East Germany, where Mr. Rauch grew up and received his artistic training. Gary Tinterow is curator of the exhibit. Through Sunday, October 14, the Met, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street, 212-535-7710, $20 suggested donation, $10 seniors and students, free for members and children under 12. For more information, go to metmuseum.org.

DANCE

THE STAGE DANCES The Wally Cardona Quartet presents the premiere of Mr. Cardona’s “Site,” a collaboration with composer Phil Kline and lighting designer Roderick Murray. Mr. Cardona is known for using the performance setting as an integral partner in his choreography. Tonight through Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Dance Theater Workshop, 219 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-924-0077, $25 general, $15 members.

MUSIC

BOOGIE WOOGIE DOWN The Puppini Sisters, who hail from Britain, perform a twoweek stand at the Oak Room. The trio, featuring vocalists Marcella Puppini, Kate Mullins, and Stephanie O’Brien, perform classic and modern pop hits, including “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “I Will Survive,” in three-part harmony. They also perform Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights,” and the Smiths’ “Panic.” Tonight through Saturday, June 9, Sunday–Thursday, 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9 and 11:30 p.m., the Algonquin Hotel, the Oak Room, 59 W. 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-840-6800, $50, $65 for 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows.

TSARINA’S COURT The Clarion Music Society, including its Chamber Ensemble and Choir, presents “The Eastern Enlightenment: Russian Jewels from the Court of Catherine the Great,” a program that includes some works that have not been performed for 200 years, since the time of Catherine’s reign. The Society is conducted by Stephen Fox. Pieces include selections from Fomin’s opera “Yamchiki na Podstave,” Bortniansky’s “Choral Concerto XV Pridite Vospoim,” and Berezovsky’s sacred concerto for choir, “Nye otvigi mneh.” Tonight, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, 881 Seventh Ave. at 57th Street, 212-247-7800, $40.

PHOTOGRAPHY

TURN ON THE LIGHT “Illuminations: Photographs by Lynn Davis” is an exhibit that documents Ms. Davis’s travels throughout the world in search of the greatest universal sites, both man-made and natural. Ms. Davis documented individuals interacting with their local environments, and religious artifacts. Selections from the exhibit include “Buddha, Sukhothai, Thailand” (1993) and “Iceberg #6, Disko Bay, Greenland” (1988). Through Monday, July 16, Monday and Thursday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., closed Tuesday, Wednesday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-620-5000, $10 general, $7 students, seniors, and neighbors of the museum, free for children.

READINGS

ROCKING WRITERS The Carlton on Madison Avenue hosts a celebrity book signing to raise funds for the nonprofit organization 826NYC, which helps to develop creative and expository writing skills among students, and to help teachers to inspire their students to write. The event is presented in conjunction with a performance by the Rock Bottom Remainders, a charity rock band featuring some of America’s most well-known writers. Featured authors during the book signing include Amy Tan, Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, and Scott Turow. Thursday, 11 a.m., the Carlton on Madison, 88 Madison Ave., between 28th and 29th streets, 212-532-4100, free.

SOIRÉES

HELPING LITTLE ONES The Children’s Health Fund, co-founded by singer-songwriter Paul Simon and pediatrician Irwin Redlener, offers 21 programs that provide pediatric primary care and mental health services to homeless and uninsured children. The fund celebrates its 20th anniversary with a dinner reception and a performance by salsa and pop star Marc Anthony, with a special appearance by his wife, Jennifer Lopez. The chairman and chief executive officer of Wyeth Laboratories, Robert Essner and the executive chairman of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Christian Haub, are honored. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., Hilton New York, 1335 Sixth Ave. at 54th Street, 212-997-0100 ext. 234, $1,000 and up.

TALKS

NEW LOOK AT ANCIENT SCROLLS New York University’s Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies hosts “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Perspective,” featuring presentations by four scholars. A professor at Yeshiva University, Moshe Bernstein, discusses “Rewriting the Bible: Two Views from Qumran;” a professor from the University of Notre Dame, James Vanderkim, speaks on “Intramural Calendar Conflicts;” a fellow professor from Notre Dame, Gary Anderson, presents “Forgive Us Our Debts: The Lord’s Prayer in Light of Qumran,” and a professor at NYU, Lawrence Schiffman, discusses “Modifications of Biblical Law in the Temple Scroll.” A third professor from Notre Dame, John Meier, is moderator of the roundtable. Tomorrow, 4 p.m., NYU, 100 Washington Square East at Washington Place, 212-998-8981, free, reservations required.

FIGHTING WORDS The College of Arms Foundation is a nonprofit group that sponsors the study of heraldry, including royal symbols, armor, and weaponry. The Foundation, along with the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, presents “Haitian Heraldry and The Armorial of Haiti,” a talk on noble coats of arms in the early 19th-century kingdom of Haiti. The discussion is presented by author Clive Cheesman, who recently published “The Armorial of Haiti: Symbols of Nobility in the Reign of Henry Christophe” (College of Arms). Tomorrow, 6 p.m., New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 122 E. 58th St., between Third and Park avenues, 212-873-6715 , free, reservations required.

ISSUES IN ISRAEL AND ELSEWHERE Politician Natan Sharansky is considered to be a crucial figure to the demise of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. In the talk “Past, Present and Future,” he discusses the impact of the Six Day War on the dissident movement in Russia, and speaks about pressing issues on the state of Jewish identity and the role of democracy in Israel. Tomorrow, 8 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street 212-415-5500, $25.

THEATRICAL EVOLUTION “Blackface Minstrelsy: The TV of the 19th Century” is a discussion about one of America’s first homegrown forms of entertainment Blackface minstrels began performing in the Northern states in 1828. During the 1850’s, minstrelsy was used by some activists as a tool for the anti-slavery move ment. Participants include an assistant professor of theater at Williams College Annemarie Bean, an associate professor of theater arts and dance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Thomas De Frantz, and an editor and author, Mel Watkins. Thursday, 6:30 p.m., New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West at 77th Street, 212-868-4444, $15 general, $10 students, seniors, and educators, $8 mem bers.

PHOTOGRAPHY

GROWING UP IN THE EYE OF THE LENS The exhibit “Melissa Ann Pinney: Recent Work” features the artist’s interpretations of life in the suburbs, capturing young children and adolescents in the midst of growing up. Selections from the exhibit include “Emma on Swing” (2005), top, and “Sarah M with Mask” (2005), above. Through Saturday, June 30, Wednesday–Saturday, noon–6 p.m., Alan Klotz Gallery, 511 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-741-4764, free.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.