At the Oct. 11 groundbreaking for the New Museum of Contemporary Art at 235 Bowery between Stanton and Rivington Sts, the project’s architects, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, shoveled sand, below, after the Reverend Mitsutaka Inui conducted a traditional Shinto ritual, above, to invoke the spirit of the earth. At right, Laurie Anderson performed using what she called a “pillow speaker.” Also at the event, Saul Dennison, president of the museum’s board of trustees, along with board members Lisa Philips and Henry Luce III, cut a ceremonial plant to signify groundbreaking. Leading donors Susan and Leonard Feinstein and Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg also wielded the shovels, and Kate Levin, city Department of Cultural Affairs commissioner, also joined the event.
