Monkey see, monkey want…but what happens when monkey gets? Rubin Museum of Art’s Brainwave Festival contemplates attachment and happiness.
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART’S BRAINWAVE FESTIVAL
Say what you will about Taylor Swift — but even haters have to admit her “Shake It Off” song has planted in tween hearts and minds the notion that the path to inner peace begins at the point where we let go of toxic thoughts. Whether you’re still in your juice box years or a jaded adult in need of a philosophical reboot, the Rubin Museum of Art is the place to expand your mind and satisfy your soul.
Now through April, their Brainwave Festival is exploring the Buddhist notion of attachment. “We’re looking at the basic idea of where satisfaction exists…through a diversity of perspectives on the very human tendency to cling to the things that we think will make us happy,” says RMA Director of Public Programs Tim McHenry, who has filled the festival with on-stage conversations, films and art that further the museum’s overall mission to “break down the ego-driven behavior that we have, and recognize that we are just one element of many that are connected.”
Upcoming installments of their “Conversation” series, which pairs artists with scientists, include an April 8 event at which Shaolin Master Shi Yan Ming and neuropsychologist Tracy Dennis discuss “Discipline as an Art.” Curated by Oscar-nominated writer-director Guillermo Arriaga, the “Words with Gods” series (March 4–April 22) screens short cinematic meditations on faith and consciousness, followed by dialogues between faith practitioners and scientists who study the mind. A Friday night film series addressing the theme of “fixation” includes Hal Ashby’s 1971 romp between a very young Bud Cort and a very old Ruth Gordon (“Harold and Maude” on April 17). A Wednesday lunchtime series (“Lunch Matters”) screens past recorded Brainwave events. On March 4, a 2014 conversation between Hunter College neuropsychologist Tracy Dennis and former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski has the duo discussing the mindset required to endure extreme space missions.
Brainwave Festival events take place through April 22, at the Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th St. at Seventh Ave.). Ticket prices vary. Museum Hours: Mon. & Thurs., 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed., 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Sat. Sun., 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Call 212-620-5000 or visit RubinMuseum.org/brainwave.
Electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick (left) and Berlin-based visual artist Lillevan collaborate, at the March 4 installment of The Kitchen’s Synth Nights series.
FROM SILVER APPLES OF THE MOON TO A SKY OF CLOUDLESS SULPHUR: V
This latest installment in The Kitchen’s long-running Synth Nights series — devoted to the live performance of electronic music — brings a genre pioneer to the iconic Chelsea performance venue. An extension of Morton Subotnick’s “Silver Apples of the Moon” (a 1967 work widely acknowledged as the first large-scale electronic work created for the record medium), this new multi-media piece pairs the perennial innovator with Berlin-based visual artist Lillevan. Musical resources from Subotnick’s analog recordings are combined with recent electronic patches and techniques to create a virtual instrument — while Lillevan, similarly, spontaneously draws from old and new visual resources.
Wed., March 4 at 8 p.m. At The Kitchen (512 W. 19th St. btw. 10th & 11th Aves.). For tickets ($15), visit thekitchen.org or call 212-255-6793 x 11. Like: facebook.com/TheKitchenNYC. Follow: @TheKitchen_NYC.
The Greenwich Village Orchestra returns to Washington Irving Auditorium for three Sunday afternoon concerts, on March 1, April 12 and May 17.
GREENWICH VILLAGE ORCHESTRA presents “MOMENTOUS MAHLER”
It’s a case of the Fifth on the first, when Greenwich Village Orchestra’s March 1 “Momentous Mahler” program comes in like a lion and never goes the way of the lamb. “From the opening fanfare to the closing chords, through marches, dances, storms and the famous Adagietto, a love song to his wife,” promises the GVO, “Mahler’s Fifth Symphony will envelop you in an intense musical world filled with humanity, spirituality, and emotion. The classy cultural venue has yet to ban selfie sticks, so bring them to post-concert reception, in anticipation of mingling with Music Director Barbara Yahr and the musicians.
GVO’s 12th season continues on April 12, when they return to Washington Irving Auditorium for an all-Tchaikovsky program led by guest conductor Pierre Vallet (from the Metropolitan Opera), and featuring young virtuoso Siwoo Kim. May 17’s “Summer in the City” program has favorites by Gershwin and Rossini, with mezzo-soprano Naomie O’Connell singing Berlioz’s song cycle “Les nuits d’été” — and “Symphonie Fantastique” anchors the orchestra’s first-ever music video.
“Momentous Mahler” is performed on Sun., March 1, 3–5 p.m. at Washington Irving Auditorium (40 Irving Place, at 17th St.). Suggested donation: $20 ($10 for students/seniors). Visit gvo.org or call 212-932-0732.
