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This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

ART

ONCE FORGOTTEN Helen Torr is perhaps best known as the wife of the American abstract painter Arthur Dove. But during her decades-long career, she was widely considered an important Modernist painter in her own right. Torr created landscape paintings, still lifes, and architectural works in which she employed a flat design technique and her unique sense of color. Alexandre Gallery celebrates Torr’s career with an exhibit of “Selected Sketchbooks” to accompany an exhibit of works by Anne Harris. Through Saturday, December 29, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Alexandre Gallery, the Fuller Building, 41 E. 57th St. at Madison Avenue, 13th floor, 212-755-2828, free.

CONNECTING THE DOTS Thomas Downing was a member of the Washington School of painters, Cold War-era artists who were influenced by the techniques of Morris Louis. An abstract expressionist, Louis combined an interest in geometry with the staining of unprimed canvas. Mr. Downing created his own paintings in the so-called Hard Edge Abstraction style that was popular through the mid-1970s, covering his canvases in patterns of dots. An exhibit, “Thomas Downing: Washington School Painter,” is the first at the newly re-opened Gary Snyder Project Space. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Gary Snyder Project Space, 250 W. 26th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-929-1351, free.

DANCE

FISHERMAN’S TALE A Japanese contemporary dance company, Pappa Tarahumara, performs “Ship in a View” as part of the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The piece is inspired by the hometown of the dance company’s director, Hiroshi Koike. The port city of Hitachi was once a fishing town before becoming industrialized. A 16-foot pole stands in the middle of the stage, evoking a ship’s mast. The company’s dances are inspired by Japanese performance art traditions, including Noh, Kabuki, and Butoh. Friday, and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., BAM, Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., between St. Felix Street and Ashland Place, 718-636-4100, $20–$45.

A NIGHT AT THE PALLADIUM Ballet Hispanico presents “Palladium Nights,” which is featured as part of its 20th season at the Joyce Theater. The fiery dance, set to the work of composer Willie Rosario, has been updated by Broadway choreographer Sergio Trujillo and features music by the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O’Farrill. The dance re-creates a night at the Palladium Ballroom at the height of the mambo craze. Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave., between 18th and 19th streets, 212-242-0800, $44 general, $33 Joyce members, $25 for all for Sunday evening performance.

A NIGHT OF REVELATIONS The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs Ailey’s classic, “Revelations,” on Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Audience members are also treated to the premiere of Frederick Earl Mosley’s “Saddle Up!,” for which Ailey dancers kick up their heels in a collection of stories from the Old West. Mr. Mosley’s piece is presented during the Friday evening concert, and on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Performances through Monday, December 31, dates and times vary, New York City Center, West 55th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-581-1212, $35 and up for performances. For complete information, go to nycitycenter.org.

FOOD & DRINK

COOKIE STARTS WITH C As parents prepare for the forthcoming Chanukah holiday with gifts and feasts, the Jewish Community Center hosts a Chanukah cookie decorating workshop. Baker Sherri Maxman leads the session, teaching participants how to make sugar cookies with royal icing in a variety of colors. Sunday, 1–4 p.m., JCC, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th Street, 646-505-5708, $35 general, $25 members.

MIXED MEDIA

THE SWEETEST TABOO The Von Lintel Gallery presents “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” an exhibit inspired by director Melvin Van Peebles’s controversial 1971 film of the same name, which aimed to turn the “Blaxploitation” genre on its head. The show features the work of 14 African-American artists, whose varied contributions examine the representation of blacks in popular culture. From blackface and iconic advertising symbols to diamond-studded slave ships and postmodern nudes, the works explore not only ideas about black culture, but also what it means to be a black artist. Titus Kaphar, Renee Cox, and Barkley Hendricks are among the featured artists. Highlights include Hank Willis Thomas’s “Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil’s Son-in-Law” (2000/2006), above, and Mickalene Thomas’s Warhol-inspired “Sweet and Out Front” (2007), left, made with rhinestones, enamel, and acrylic. Collette Blanchard is curator of the exhibit. Through Sunday, January 20, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Von Lintel Gallery, 555 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-242-0599, free.

MUSIC

THE DEBUT A young Venezuelan conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, has his debut with the New York Philharmonic. Violinist Gil Shaham is a featured performer. Mr. Dudamel is the music director of the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, which recently completed a successful first tour in America. The rising-star conductor will take on the role of music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009. Program selections include Dvörak’s violin concerto. Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 8 p.m., and Tuesday, December 4, 7:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, 132 W. 65th St. at Columbus Avenue, 212-875-5030, $29-$99.

TRADITION IN AMERICA National Heritage Masters is a series designed to commemorate the National Endowment for the Arts’s National Heritage Fellowships. As part of the series, the World Music Institute presents “Ireland in America,” featuring recipients of the fellowships. Performers include button accordionists Liz Carroll and Joe Derrane, musician Mick Moloney, and the Donny Golden Dancers. “Tradition and Innovation in Irish Music,” a talk with the artists, at 7 p.m., precedes the performance. Friday, 8 p.m., New York University, Skirball Center, 566 La Guardia Place at Washington Square South, 212-279-4200, $32.

PHOTOGRAPHY

STARS OF THE ’60s Gianfranco Gorgoni rode the wave of Pop Art in the 1960s, enjoying the camaraderie of artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein through his work as a photojournalist. He came to New York in 1968 to work on a photographic essay. He stayed, taking on assignments and shooting for magazines including Time and Esquire. Through Wednesday, December 12, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Jim Kempner Fine Art, 501 W. 23rd St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-206-6872, free.

READINGS

LOST BOY FOUND Author Dave Eggers’s most recent novel, “What Is the What” (McSweeney’s), is inspired by the experience of a Sudanese refugee, Valentino Achak Deng. Mr. Deng, also known as one of the “Lost Boys,” was forced from his home during the civil war in Sudan in the 1980s and ’90s, which preceded the ongoing conflict in the region. Mr. Eggers shares a slideshow presentation of his last trip to the Sudan, answers audience questions, and signs books. Friday, 7 p.m., Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway at 12th Street, 212-473-1452, free.

TALKS

ACROSS THE WATERS The Municipal Art Society and the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance host a screening of their documentary, “City of Water,” which examines the future of New York’s waterfront in the context of development changes taking place along the Hudson and East rivers. A panel discussion follows the screening, and features Majora Carter of Sustainable South Bronx, among other panelists. Friday, 6 p.m., Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, between Bleecker and West 3rd streets, 212-935-3960, free.

THEATER

MAGIC KINGDOM Although Lincoln Center Theater’s “Cymbeline” was one of the few Broadway productions to be unaffected by the recently ended, 19-day stagehands’ strike, this weekend seems like a fitting time to catch a performance of one of the Bard’s most unusual plays. The tragicomedy is one in a trio of Shakespeare’s late romances. It spans Britain and Italy as the two warring powers clash. Characters include a monarch, played by John Cullum; a wicked queen, played by veteran actress Phylicia Rashad; the king’s daughter Imogen, played by Martha Plimpton, in what is widely considered the playwright’s last great female role, and a deceived husband, played by Michael Cerveris. Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, 8 p.m., through Sunday, January 6, LCT, Vivian Beaumont Theater, 150 W. 65th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, 212-362-7600, $65–$90.

TOURS

HYSTERIA LANE Watson Adventures hosts an adults-only whirlwind tour of the American Museum of Natural History during its “Museum of Natural Hysteria Scavenger Hunt.” Participants divided into teams are given the expanse of the museum to go in search of oddities. No prior knowledge of the museum is required; comfortable shoes are suggested. Saturday, 3 p.m., AMNH, 200 Central Park West at 79th Street, 877-9-GO HUNT, advance reservations required, $36.50 includes museum admission.

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.


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