1)
What: Doudou Photography Project
When: November 15 and 16, 10am to 6pm
Where: Pomme, 81 Washington St, at York Street
It has become a tradition: every Fall, we invite New York children to Pomme to be photographed with their most cherished possessions. On November 15th and 16th, Davina Zagury will be back to capture the attachment they have to their security objects.
Like its three previous installments, this Doudou Project (doudou is the French word for lovey) will result in a month-long exhibit, during which prints will be available for order. Please call to make an appointment (718.855.0623); participation is free. Children should be at least one year old.
Best known for her poetic pictures of old and broken toys, Israeli photographer Davina Zagury has collaborated with Pomme on several projects.
2)
What: Sarah Beddington: CROSSING
When: last exhibition day is November 16, 2008, 12 – 6 PM
Where: Dumbo Arts Center (DAC), 30 Washington Street Brooklyn, NY
A Solo Exhibition Curated by Tania Duvergne. As seen in NY Times:
This multimedia solo show by Ms. Beddington, a British artist, evokes the journey of the Experiment, the second sailing ship to make a direct crossing from the United States to China at the end of the 18th century. A 20-foot-long silverpoint map traces the voyage down the Hudson River from Albany, where the ship was built; a three-channel video follows the voyage at sea, mixing past and present, reality and mirage; a sound piece adds maritime atmosphere. The gallery setting, in an area of Brooklyn once associated with shipping, is ideal.
3)
What: Georgia: The August War
When: November 13th – December 31st 10am-6pm (Reception: Tuesday, November 18th, 6pm)
Where: VII Photo, 28 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY
VII Photo presents the work of three photojournalists who witnessed the devastating conflict between Georgia and Russia that provides a sweeping narrative of the tragedy and senselessness of the war that erupted last August.
Curated by: Carroll Bogart & Denise Wolff, (Image credit: Photo: Russian troops pull out after the week-long war in Gori, Georgia on Aug. 22, 2008. © 2008 Marcus Bleasdale/VII)
4)
What: Nerd Nite at Galapagos
When: Saturday, November 15, 8pm
Where: Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY
Presentation #1: Hermaphroditism is Bad for Copulatory Plugging by Matt Rockman
Natural selection supports a lot of unusual habits, including copulatory plugging as a form of paternity assurance in many species. Copulatory plugs are just what they sound like. In the tiny worm C. elegans, only some males are genetically capable of making these gelatinous chastity belts. Matt will show how recent evolution of hermaphroditism in this species has allowed male function to decay, and how genetics pinpointed a mutation underlying this phenomenon. There will be pictures of green fluorescent worm semen.
Matt is an evolutionary geneticist at NYU. An actual, legitimate evolutionary geneticist, not one of those media-whore types who make up goofy men-are-from-Mars stories to justify their reactionary politics. Matt likes data.
Presentation #2: Race in Role-Playing Games by Chris Van Dyke
It’s as teenagers that many of us first become aware of the importance of race. We learn that, depending on the color of your skin, some people will always look at you suspiciously; we learn that some races are considered “normal” and “good,” while others are deemed “bad” or even “evil.” And we learn that if you are an elf you get a +1 bonus to Dexterity and that you can NEVER take your eye off your wallet if there’s a Halfling around. What messages about race, explicit or implied, are encoded in Dungeons & Dragons? What does the game say about the role race plays in shaping self-identity? What makes a race “different” or “evil?” Grab your Dungeon Master’s Guide, a dice bag, and a stack of character sheets while we deconstruct the racial undertones behind the world’s most popular role-playing game.
Presentation #3: Know Your Type: A Font of Information about Typography by John Engelmann
There’s more to life than 12-point Times New Roman. Discover the origins and science of typography from the Minoan period to today. Learn about far-out typographical concepts like kerning, ligatures, and interrobangs. Find out what American Airlines and American Apparel have in common and why. John Engelmann is an obsessive collector of 1980s synthesizers who hails from the Midwest. If he were a font, he’d be Andale Mono.
