“This sculpture by George Segal (1924-2000) honors the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) rights movement and commemorates the events at the Stonewall Inn opposite this park that gave rise to the movement.” Thus reads the plaque at the Gay Liberation Monument in Christopher Park in the West Village. George Segal (1924-2000) is a well-known sculptor, and this work was inaugurated in 1992 after a 12-year battle of controversy and opposition (a cast of the sculpture installed on Stanford University’s campus in 1984 faced a decade of vandalism and beatings). The Stonewall Inn is just out of view to the right in the photo. If you are unfamiliar with the Stonewall Riots of July 1969, you can read about them here. Many consider the events of that summer pivotal in the gay rights movement.

It’s hard to imagine that 38 years ago, men were being arrested, harassed, and beaten by police simply for being gay – many of the arrests were made with charges for indecency. And yet arguments for legalization of homosexuality go back hundreds of years. English scholar Jeremy Bentham wrote an essay as early as 1785, at which time homosexuality was punishable by hanging. Much progress was made from 1860 to 1933 in Europe and Germany, with activists like Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, Magnus Hirschfeld, Ann Rüling, and Helene Stöcke, but most of the gains were lost with the rise of Nazism. Progress in human rights, unlike those in technology, can be very S L O W…

AIPAD is the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, currently hosting the Photography Show 07. In its 27th year, the show includes more than 90 of the top dealers from around the world who specialize in fine art photography, featuring the earliest to the most contemporary images. Photos from many of the biggest names in photography can be found for sale: Steichen, Weston, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Margaret Bourke-White, André Kertesz, Brassai, Cartier-Bresson, Berenice Abbott, Salgado, and hundreds of others.

I was accompanied by an artist and photographer – we were impressed and inspired by the quality presented. The show is a rare opportunity to see such a breadth of work all at one time under one roof. The show is held in the 7th Regiment Armory on Park Avenue and 67th Street, a great historic fortress (occupying a full city block) and a great space for this type of event. The exhibit runs from April 12 through the 15th. The $20 admission (which includes a 360-page color catalog) is well worth it…

This is the Bust of Sylvette, an enlarged version of an original sculpture, Portrait of Sylvette, done by Picasso in 1954. The new piece, 60 tons and 36 feet tall, was reinterpreted/executed by Norwegian sculptor Carl Nesjär in 1967. The sculpture sits in the courtyard of Silver Towers development (originally University Village), a complex of three 32-story apartment buildings – two used as NYU faculty housing (Silver Towers) and one a middle-income coop. One of these towers is seen in the photo. The sculpture was commissioned by architect I. M. Pei, who designed the buildings in 1966 for New York University.

I find this small plaza and its surrounding buildings somewhat bleak, however, architectural reviews generally seem quite favorable, citing many unique features of the design and construction of the towers. The sculpture’s concrete was made with a Norwegian black stone aggregate, sandblasted to recreate the etched black lines of the original. Picasso was involved in the scaled translation, material, and its placement in the plaza. In 1972, Christo (the environmental installation artist who did the Gates of Central Park numerous other works) did a wrapping of the sculpture, Wrapped Sylvette…

NYU provides two window galleries for public viewing of art: Broadway Windows and Washington Square Windows (previously featured on this site).  Both spaces are lit 24 hours a day.

Broadway Windows, located at East 10th Street and Broadway, is currently featuring Waterworld by Bates Wilson. Wilson salvages scrapped metals and abandoned objects to create metal-finned fabricated fish that swim through the imagined waters of an otherworldly urban aquarium. One can find sun-fish, crested sail-fish, and striped flying fish. “These fish are organicistically constructed of sheet metals, found objects, and rivets. They have the feel of Jules Verne and could swim in the oceans of the metropolis. The idea is to make something new out of things old; to take that which is discarded and renew the life that it once had. Art should allow for a continuous evolution of materials and ideas.” It’s a pleasant surprise to happen upon displays of art like this while walking in the city…

This is a section of the ceiling mural in the lobby of the Chrysler Building, done by Edward Trumbull in 1930. Click here for second photo. Considered the largest mural in the world, it measures 100 x 96 square feet. Entitled “Transport and Human Endeavor,” it depicts energy and man’s application of it to the solution of his problems. The mural’s central image is a male figure who was described in a 1930s building brochure as a ”muscled giant whose brain directs his boundless energy to the attainment of the triumphs of this mechanical era.” There are images of fire, lightning, electricity, heat and steam, the telegraph, telephone, radio, ocean liners, trains, airplanes, buildings, and scenes of construction workers building the Chrysler Building and from the Chrysler assembly line.

In the 1970s, the mural was essentially damaged by the application of a polyurethane coating; in addition, recessed lighting was cut into the mural itself. In 1999, a thorough restoration was done with an estimated 10,000 hours of labor. The urethane was removed, the spotlight fixture holes repaired (filled with plaster), new canvas attached, and images recreated using archival photos. In a time when the dumbing down of America is a popular refrain, it is heartening to see the widespread movement of architectural restoration and preservation in this country…

New York University has a number of window spaces that are used to show works of art. On the east side of Washington Square Park are three windows called Washington Square Windows. Currently there is an exhibition of sculpture by Bolek Niedzwiecki entitled Offerings (Feb 9 – April 9, 2007). The work is quite whimsical, and since it features confections, it attracts quite a bit of attention. Cakes, confections, and other edibles are offered on outstretched, white-gloved hands. They are formed from squeezed acrylics.

Says Niedzwiecki: “No underlying messages, no esoteric descriptions, no political commentary, just good old-fashioned aesthetics and whimsy is what Offerings is all about. These cartoonishly comical cakes are made using the same squeeze-bag and knife techniques that you would find at your favorite corner bakery. The only difference is these cakes are made of acrylic paint. Let me indulge your fancy with an offering of cake.” The exhibit is visible from the street and lit 24 hours a day, so if you are in the area, have a look…

This is the story you have not heard and the place you have not seen. In a signless, nondescript, windowless 1-story garage workspace in SoHo, bicycles are being made (see here). These creations are the work of Josh Hadar, born in Maplewood, New Jersey, and a NYC resident since 1983. A Boston University film major, Josh was, until recently, a family partner in Studio 54. With a little friendly persistence, he was kind enough to permit me a short interview and these exclusive photos (click here).

The bikes are hybrids – they can either be pedaled or run on a small gas or electric motor. They are all handmade. A lot of cutting, tube bending, grinding, and welding goes into these graceful, chopperlike vehicles – about 4 to 5 weeks’ time goes into each one. Only a dozen or so have been made over the last two years. He has a number of newer designs not yet completed, which he asked that I not photograph. Josh assured me that a couple of these are street-ridden in the city, but I have never seen one. Keep a very sharp eye out for a rare sighting…