YIKES!!!

I didn’t mean to start a war! All you optimists have chewed me down. Especially my husband. Calm down! All I’m sayin’, we see the same thing differently. Because I am pessimistic by nature, I think that is what drives me to “fix” things. This is certainly not to say optimists are not fixers! I do, however, think optimists tend to be more accepting of an imperfect world.

Egads. Maybe optimism and pessimism have nothing to do with activism. Maybe there is no divide. Just like the glass half full/half empty. There is no difference. It is all in our perception.

Everyone is talking about the summer heat wave, as if it is something that will pass. I hate to be pessimistic. I prefer to think of myself as someone who is hopeful. A hopeful pessimist. To all you optimists, I pose this question: do you think the problem of global climate change, documented to be caused by human activity, is going to vanish without human intervention?

I have often wondered about optimism and pessimism and the idea of the glass half full, half empty. As an avowed pessimist, I tend to look at the dark side of things and curse my nature. Why can’t I see the good in things? Why am I the arbiter of the dire? Is this a curse?

Or, could this propensity be a blessing in disguise? If it weren’t for the worrier, the pessimist, the kvetch in me, I would probably never think about the question of climate change. I might, for instance, be like, say a George Bush or a Rush Limbaugh (both optimistically ignorant) and be able to brush off the reality of these summer warming trends while basking in the glory of a let’s live for today, God is in control philosophy. Or if I were a Sarah Palin (heaven forbid), I might be inclined towards greater population growth, abortion be damned, at any cost. Whatever happened to ZPG?

I am surely blessed because I know there are many, like me, who stir up enough trouble to keep the earth spinning. We look at an imperfect world and ask “How can I make it a better place?” I am pretty sure that if we leave the world in the hands of the cockeyed optimist, we’ll have a pretty good time. We won’t worry about our deficit, oil spills (“dig, baby, dig”), or health care. We won’t worry, because they don’t worry. In fact, if we pessimists stop trying to fix things, I’m pretty sure there will be nothing left to worry about.

Lucian’s overtly grand-scale nudes and personal quotes naturally brought to mind the great Sigmund Freud, his grandfather. Stated Lucian, “I work from people that interest me and that I care about, in rooms that I know.” Sigmund, too, cared for interesting people in familiar rooms. I was suddenly struck by the notion of Sigmund using his own monumental imagination as a canvas for revolutionary ideas. No doubt his thinking influenced Lucian in art and ideas. His radical pronouncements also provided a foundation for thought, perhaps even a way of life, for many of my generation.
Consider the title of Lucian’s self-portrait, “Interior with Hand Mirror” and its implications both as mirroring and self-awareness, and for intensity of scrutiny. Lucian Freud’s paintings are like journeys through the minds of his subjects. Isn’t that what Sigmund was attempting with his patients as well; to discover, uncover, explore and perhaps invent the secret of the self? The two Freuds evoked a confluence of meaning satisfying my intellect as deeply as my emotional experience of Lucian’s paintings, art at large, my own analysis.

I see the two Masters Freud as master plumbers. For many, the 70’s were about plumbing the interior. We did it with everything. We did it with sex, drugs, rock and roll, psychology and art. For others, I think these kinds of explorations were as untenable as a transition from the figurative to the abstract in art. And still there are those who maintain that art should remain an emotional experience, not one subject to analysis. I am journeying towards the abstract, but not without my need to dissect.

In pictures larger than life, Lucian Freud shows us how curiously alike we all are: naked and invulnerable, naked and frail, naked in all our permutations from the plain to the pretty, trying, oh so desperately, to feel comfortable in our skins. Is that different from what Sigmund Freud was illuminating for us?

Of Guppies, Big Fish and Ponds, Large and Small

IV. Sentient Beings

For those sentient beings who may be following my thoughts about Big Fish and Guppies, I had started reading that awe-inspiring but ultimately unreadable “Theory of the Leisure Class” by Thorstein Veblen. OY! After the ol’ college try, the best I could do was to follow some highlights, underlined by my father so many years ago. In so doing, I got a strong sense of why I have, as one critic observed, “made a career of skewering the rich.”

Let me clear something up. I don’t hate the leisure class. Not the whole class. Just some of its members. To be honest, what gets me is the three E’s: Ego, Elitism, Entitlement. What I mean is those individuals, who through noeffort or fault of their own acquire great wealth and/or status, yet demonstrate a blatant disregard for those who are less fortunate or “gifted.” No doubt, there is a pathological socio-economic system which allows, perhaps encourages such behavior. And, no doubt there will always be BIG FISH and guppies. I’m not against free enterprise, but I’m not a big fan of greed and excess, either.

What I’m talking about is very simple. Honestly? I’m so sick of the excess I see; the gains of the rich and famous through nepotism and meritless-ocracy, the Wall Street  debauchery not withstanding. I suppose that is why shows like American Idol have succeeded. But shouldn’t we question the value in that? What does it say about us when we create a desire for everyone to become an American Idol? What happened to just becoming? When did it stop being valuable to just be a sentient being?

We all want. That is human nature. I am as guilty of wanting as anyone. When I traveled to India I saw unspeakable poverty. I saw unspeakable wealth as well. I am sure there is enough of everything on this planet to go around(…except maybe oil, and now look what we’ve done…) Enough so that each sentient human can live a reasonably comfortable existence.

We’ve seen the fall of Socialism, Communism, and now Capitalism. I simply do not understand why we don’t value sentient beings more than money and the havoc it wreaks on humankind.

If you are concerned as I am about our future, there is a very comprehensible and comprehensive discussion of Chris

Martenson’s Three E’s: Economy, Energy, Environment

http://www.chrismartenson.com/

Please take note:
Remment Lucas Koolhaas”…the generic city, the general urban condition, is happening everywhere, and just the fact that it occurs in such enormous quantities must mean that it’s habitable. Architecture can’t do anything that the culture doesn’t. We all complain that we are confronted by urban environments that are completely similar. We say we want to create beauty, identity, quality, singularity. And yet, maybe in truth these cities that we have are desired. Maybe their very characterlessness provides the best context for living.” —interview in Wired 4.07, July 1996

I couldn’t agree less. Little boxes have taken on new proportions in every sense. Much as I admire the impressive slivers of glass and other fanciful new architecture, my heart gravitates to brownstone and brick, the little boxes of a lost era. I ache for grass, trees, wooden floors and brick chimneys. I want to live with the kinds of precious things that feel beautiful. I am certain that characterlessness does not provide the best context for living. That is simply an excuse to create soulless art, a reflection of a soulless culture. Perhaps characterlessness makes us want to create that which makes us feel. I’m holding on to the hope that there are still soul-seeking neighbors who feel as I do… we need to provide spaces that nurture us.

Could it be that the more things stay the same, the more they change?

Okay, so this is a kinda funny story. To me, anyway. Which isn’t saying much, ’cause I’m a person who laughs at my own jokes. I really don’t mind, though. I care mostly about keeping myself entertained. In life. Which is why I want to tell this story.

Spike Jonze is interesting. I know, I know you’re saying “interesting? “  So, if you wanna tune out, so be it. Still, when I saw the NYT Mag cover page of Spike Jonze, I was drawn in because he looked interesting and I love his movies. As I read the very interesting story, I was fascinated by Spike’s personal history and creative energy, particularly because I identified with him. It was deep. Deeper into the story I learned he was a descendent of the Spiegels of Spiegel Catalogue fame. To myself: OMG! My grandmother was a Spiegel.  Exponentially interesting. Was there some mysterious DNA glitch that might actually explain my  dark, quirky sense of humor and doom?

My mother, many years ago, told me her mother was a sister of that Spiegel. My grandmother, the story went, had eloped with a defector from the Czar’s army (from a family of horse thieves, no less) and fled to America (with a daughter, the first of their 11 children)  in 1901. No one ever offered much more about their family histories, so it seemed the Spiegel connection was a legit possibility. Except that my mother was a great fabricator of facts, a.k.a. a pathological liar. (That alone can predispose you to dark and quirky.) However, a quick calculation (I inherited a good head for birth order) and I determined that I was the same generation as Spike’s dad, the grandson of the founder of Spiegel, which would make my grandmother the exact right age to be a Spiegel sister (and me old enough to be Spike’s mother’s kid sister). This is where it starts to get weird.

Naturally I went to the internet and started my research. I did an extensive search for “Spiegel”  which yielded lots of info, but nothing on the Fannie Blacksin nee Spiegel who was my kin. I went out on a limb and looked up my own maiden name. I found a site for a music festival by the same name. Gruntfest. I suppose it could have been worse ( I once had a friend who referred to me as Nancy Orgy). I persevered. Eventually I went to Facebook and contacted any possible connection. No replies. My last effort was a cousin in Scranton, an artist whose mother was my mother’s sister. Another granddaughter of Fannie Spiegel. I once asked her if the Spiegel myth had merit. “Probably not,” was her glib reply. Her name is Judy Heep nee Matloff.  “What” you may ask, ” does her name have to do with this story?” In my last, desperate attempt to get some facts, she was the only connection I had to anyone who possibly had any ties to our past. So I dashed off an email, hoping that she might actually have some leads. Then, I solemnly went off to my bedroom. As is my habit, I took the Sunday NYT with me and, on my way to the crossword puzzle, I turned to the inside back page to eye the story by, lo and behold,  Judith Matloff. Could it be???

No, it wasn’t. But, coincidentally (?) her story was about her search for her grandmother’s home in the Ukraine! That very same NYT Magazine where Spike Jonze nee Spiegel graced the cover. Now, this may not seem like much to to you, but to me it is quite interesting.

V.  The Middle Way
I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! How unenlightened of me to boast. But boast I must! Whether or not he labels his path (I’ve never asked) it is evident that Preston (I know him as Skip)Stahly is walking the Middle Way.

Last week I had the intense pleasure of being his guest at a concert that was truly out of this world. Two of my favorite musicians performed that night: Mary Rowell and Geoffrey Burleson.

The NY Art Ensemble http://www.nyae.org/ has been modestly presenting fantastic new American music for years. Finally, Skip’s slow and steady practice has resulted in a huge leap from the downtown Flea Theater to the uptown Merkin Concert Hall. Skip’s audience got too big for the downtown venues, including the cell. I knew it! People are people finally getting hip to what’s hip! Could it be that soulful art is back in style? No fancy sets, no expensive seats, just great stuff from remarkable artists. Skip may not be a BIG FISH, but he’s no guppy, either. Bravo.

If it is in the walking of the Middle Way that one discovers Nirvana, I think we’ve found the path.
For a review: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/arts/music/07tribeca.html?scp=1&sq=NYAE&st=cse

*Kudos to the BIG FISH: “RED” was amazing.

The Real L Word 6/1/10

the L word…Love? Lust? er, uh, Lesbian? With the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival upon us, the cell will once again open our doors as the lounge for the festival attendees. Since we are a company run by women who  enthusiastically support the LGBT film festival, you may be wondering about us. Are we, or aren’t we? Who cares? We certainly love the NewFest folks!

As a not-for-profit organization, we’re not allowed to take a political position. I can’t say that we support gay marriage. I can’t tell you ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is nonsensical. I can’t even extol the glory of gay adoption, though with four kids (and a husband) you can bet I’m a family woman. As for bisexuality and transgender issues, well, we are simply not allowed to state a politically questionable choice.

However, I can tell you that we LOVE what we do and we LUST for art in all its permutations. I can also tell you we love all people in their various permutations. Regardless of ours or your politics and sex preferences, no one will want to miss this film festival, and the honest to goodness new reality show, The Real L Word.

As for the women of the cell, we don’t beat around the bush. I always say it is not who you love, but that you love.  And, well, who doesn’t love women?

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicagos-sappho/2010/04/-the-real-l-word-its-finally-happening.html

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/05/the-real-l-word-teaser-whos-excited-besides-me/

photo credit: “ANGEL” by Barbara Silverman

INSPIRATION IS CONTAGEOUS

Uptown to downtown, glossy to gritty, our idea of cool is moving south for the summer… if you haven’t yet caught 7 ELEVEN Gallery’s “MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME” extraordinary installations, or even if you have, you won’t want to miss our tribute to the muse of chic schlock (as in ‘useless beauty’)!

Thanks to the inspiration of Steve Starosta and the beautiful trio of women that put the show up, we’ve got an amazing opportunity to make ourselves at home in the cell’s mounting tradition of collaborative art. We love a challenge…so, as fast as one can say gesamtkunstwerk we are cranking out a one-time-only performance that will transport us through the unbelievably believable “sets” in the warehouse space. B.Y.O.B. (that’s booze, not bong) and see what we’ve imagined into being. It’s free!!!

http://according2g.com/2010/05/make-yourself-at-home-at-the-7eleven-gallery/

Speaking of gesamtkunstwerk , did I mention the cell has a ghost? Yup! Lila Smalls. Although she remains unseen, we know her name and sense her vivid presence in all things creative; she is our muse.

History reveals West 23rd Street as a long-standing cultural and literary hub. Along with the (now extinct) Grand Opera House at 23^rd and 8th Avenue, the Chelsea Hotel always drew many intriguing personalities to the area. Edith Wharton, Tennessee Williams, William S. Burroughs, and Arthur Miller are some legends of Chelsea. Even Santa Claus, from the imagination of Clement Clarke Moore, was born on 23^rd Street. No wonder we believe in the power of imagination!

Who is Lila Smalls? What is an apparition? Who can dispute the power of spirit? I believe Lila Smalls is a remnant of flesh and bones; a phantom in search of a lost identity. She may be dead, but her essence refuses to yield to the genericism of a culture gone awry. I like to think of her as the force that lives in Chelsea, fighting for light where shadow prevails.

So much of the cell’s programming is about poetry, words and music. What we do is brought forth from the mysterious depths of creative energy. What is art if not an energy? If Lila Smalls is but a name, let us wallow in our fantasy of a guiding force. We like the inspiration.

By Serena Solomon

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

CHELSEA – Is he jumping off the roof or dancing on the ledge?

Whichever it is, “Falling Man” has baffled and intrigued Chelsea residents for the past 12 months. The artwork leans over the street from the Cell Theatre on West 23rd Street and is the handywork of Washington, D.C., neon artist,Craig Kraft.

“He wanted to distinguish the building with something that represented us,” said Nancy Manocherian, the founding artistic director of the theater and a friend of Kraft’s.

Manocherian described the Cell Theatre as a modern day salon that leans away from mainstream performances. Instead, it showcases emerging young artists or older artists who are underrepresented.

The life-sized sculpture, which was created in 1995, is a negative cast, which curves inwards. At night neon lights placed inside the cast illuminate the piece. His holographic eyes appear to follow those who walk past it, Manocherian said.

Before he found his permanent home on the Cell Theatre’s building, Falling Man traveled the world and was displayed in Puerto Rico, Mexico and South Korea.

David Glading said he walks past Falling Man on his way to work each day, but Wednesday was the first time he stopped to take a closer look.

“I thought he was climbing,” Glading said, tilting his head the other way. “But maybe he is dancing on the ledge.”

The model for the sculpture was a dancing man, according to Manocherian. She believes Falling Man represents “an artist taking a leap into the unknown.”

However, Kathy, a Chelsea artist, has a much stronger opinion. She said Falling Man brought up memories of September 11 when people were forced to jump from the burning World Trade Center.

“It is too fresh a memory in the minds of New Yorkers,” she said. “I know that this was never anticipated by the artist.”

Kathy called the sculpture ambiguous and pondered what its meaning would be if it appeared in the context of another city like Toronto or London.

“What is good about this is it makes people wonder what it means,” she said.

Read more here!