Artists Unite Issue

Via Coolstop, we have…

Art Into Life. “We as graphic designers, artists, photographers, filmmakers and writers present our work into the public domain and therefore it is essential that we do so with a sense of cultural and social responsibility.” That’s how the manifesto begins. Peter Bruce is a graphic designer working towards his BA who came up with the site’s concept, launching it just a few months ago. He hopes to build a community where creatives use their skills “to achieve social change.” There’s already 8 members, though most of the output so far is from Zookeeper (that’s Pete). Included in his profile is a gallery of 14 images of various posters he created, some of which are available as PDF files you can print out and “put up in your own environment.” This should get even more interesting as other members start voicing their opinions through their art as well. The blog’s got some cool news in it too…

The ride from Inwood to Brooklyn didn’t take so long after all. In fact, it was surprisingly easy to get to the Brooklyn Museum for the opening of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. The new 8300 square foot “museum within a museum” is designed with the permanent installation of Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party as its centerpiece, encircled by galleries for changing exhibitions and a resource center for educational activities. The first of its kind, the Center’s stated mission is “to present feminist art and to explore its meaning and influence through a wide range of public programs.”

The inauguration of the Center included the opening of two temporary exhibitions, Global Feminisms, an international survey of contemporary feminist art, co-curated by Dr. Maura Reilly, the center’s curator, and Professor Linda Nochlin, as well as Pharoahs, Queens, and Goddesses, (co-curated by Dr. Reilly and Edward Bleiberg, Curator of Egyptian Art). Pharoahs, Queens… is the first of a series of biographical shows based on the figures and themes of The Dinner Party. This show gathers 32 portaits, statues, seals, and amulets from the museum’s collection to delve into the history of Hatshepsut, an Egyptian Queen, and to consider new interpretations of her story, along with those of other powerful women in ancient Egypt.

There is no denying that Judy Chicago’s most noted work, The Dinner Party, is a seminal piece of 20^th century art history. Most people with any interest in contemporary art will have heard of it, but as so often is the case, seeing reproductions does not come anywhere close to experiencing the real thing. And it’s hard to imagine it could look better than it does now, pristinely restored and installed in a romantically lit, triangular room, impressively designed by Susan T. Rodriguez of Polshek Partnership Architects.

The installation allows for close-up viewing of the 39 place settings paired with intricate table runners, each setting representing a woman of historical importance, who, as Chicago said during her walk-through of the piece yesterday, “was selected because that woman represented an entire epoch.” After all, there’s only so much space at the table. To give you an idea of the scope, Chicago worked alone on the piece for two years, and then spent another three years bringing it to completion with the help of over 400 volunteers. In its final form, the table takes the shape of an equilateral triangle, open in the center, with 13 place settings on each side. The number 13 makes reference to the Last Supper, but this supper, Chicago says, was intended to honor “those who did all the cooking for The Last Supper and all those other meals throughout history.” The triangle is a traditional female symbol, and its equal sides are intended to convey the artist’s vision of a world made whole through equality. Further, she explains, one reason she chose to symbolically depict the women on the plates was that they were devoured, “consumed by history,” and then summarily erased. In addition to the 39 honored at the table, 999 other perhaps unheralded yet important historical women are given tribute on The Heritage Floor, on which the dinner table stands (symbolically on the floor because they were walked over?). The room is dark but the table is well lit, with small lights that have the appearance of stars in a night sky, giving the whole setting a cosmic air. The piece is undeniably forceful and engrossing. It is so involved as to be truly epic, and the extensive symbolism is explained in a newly released book by Chicago that accompanies the show. One leaves this installation feeling acutely aware of the silencing of women’s history, and our subsequent ignorance, but its great success is its ability not just to educate, but to inspire viewers to seek out more information.

While in general, I believe the establishment of this Center is indeed a groundbreaking achievement — truly a cause for celebration — I still have some mixed reactions. I’m not happy to criticize this effort, so I hope my comments are constructive, as intended. If I focus on its educational value, I find the Center has brought into existence a magnificent vision with great potential. However, I can’t entirely shake my discomfort with its self-imposed segregation. An old Guerilla Girls piece sarcastically listing “the advantages of being a woman artist” posts “Not having to be in shows with men,” as ironic answer number two. I remain unconvinced that outstanding institutions like the Studio Museum in Harlem, El Museo del Barrio, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts do much to affect and advance equality for women and minorities in the so-called “mainstream” world of art and culture. In her very moving opening remarks yesterday, Dr. Sackler called for “Equal rights, equal pay, equal wall space, equal prices,” and as I applauded loudly, I hoped that all the publicity surrounding this new Center effectively serves those ends.

I also found myself ambivalent about the inaugural exhibition Global Feminisms. Indeed there are many good things to be said about this show (for instance there being approximately 50 countries represented), yet while it brings to view a cross-cultural feminist perspective, it unfortunately succumbs to the demon of ageism, that nasty discriminating filter from which women already suffer greatly. The press release and informational signage make a big deal trumpeting that most of the almost 90 participating artists in this show are under age 40, the majority having never before shown work in New York. In fact, from what I could tell, none the artists is older than 47. Why is that? There is no explanation given offered why older artists have been excluded. “In Global Feminisms, we are attempting to construct a definition of ‘feminist’ art that is as broad and flexible as possible,” says curator Reilly. “Linda [Nochlin] and I kept asking what it means to be a feminist in radically different cultural, political, and class situations. And we found not one definition, but many…” therefore their use of the plural word, “feminisms” in the exhibition title. Well, I ask, aren’t there any women over 47 to be found in these ‘radically different situations?’ I wondered if the young age of the artists was in some way related to the age Judy Chicago was when she made The Dinner Table (35-40). If that’s the case though, it casts a harsh spotlight on the sad yet undeniable truth that there’s not one single piece in this show able to come anywhere near the depth of commitment, research, and execution involved in Chicago’s piece. While Chicago’s piece celebrates the reclamation of women’s historical contributions in one gallery, why, one wonders, are the creative contributions of older artists to the feminist dialogue being negated here? Or are they planning a show of feminist art by underrecognized women age 47 and up for the next season? As Chicago talked about her identification as an artist and her subsequent realization that the museums of her youth did not have the work of women like her, I wonder if she was aware of the irony that she would be considered too old to be included in Global Feminisms? The contributions and examples set by older women who have persevered cannot be overvalued. They should be trumpeted and their work included at every opportunity because those women are the beacons on this path. As inspiring as it is to have an icon like Gloria Steinem on hand to give an introductory speech, it is disappointing to then note the absence of any artists from her generation.

Global Feminisms is divided into four thematic sections: Life Cycles, Identities, Politics, and Emotions. In Life Cycles, it again seems ironic that there are no works by women who are in the mature, even elderly stage of life. Doesn’t that count as one of life’s cycles, and aren’t they best equipped to reflect on it? There’s too much in this show to discuss it all, but some standouts in this section were Jenny Saville’s enormous painting “Fulcrum,” with the ability to shock both in scale and by her adroit handling of the paint—a kind of realism at its best. I was also taken by Miwa Yanagi’s photo “Yuka” from her series “My Grandmothers.” I’d seen this before in reproduction, but in person, it conveyed such a sense of true joy. It’s to be expected that a feminist show will express many grievances of the female experience, which made the few pieces like Yanagi’s with a positive message, or any hint of wit, really stand out. This show has tons of photography and videos, greatly outnumbering painting and sculpture. In the Identities section, racial, cultural, and gender identities are explored. A particularly strong, albeit disturbing statement is made by artist Mary Coble, in an 11-minute video of a butch lesbian repeatedly binding and unbinding her breasts with duct-tape until the skin becomes red, raw, and obviously painful. Finding inspiration with Duchamp’s idea of an alter ego of another gender, Israeli artist Oreet Ashery also presents a rather startling image of a breast-baring Hasidic man in “Self-Portrait as Marcus Fisher I”, a kind of fascinating commentary on this insular society of patriarchal tradition. (Sorry for the reflection — bad photo.) Unless I missed them, absent in the Identities section are pieces that address the continued objectification of women and the ever-increasing pressure on women to alter themselves with plastic surgery to be more appealing (to men).

The section on Politics is perhaps the most enlightening, presenting the vast range of experiences of women from so many different countries and cultures. The video by Bulgarian artist Boryana Rossa in the final section, “Emotions” was another standout for its humorous approach to skewering stereotypes of women’s exaggerated, histrionic emotions. There was a kind of poignant humor to the unpretentious piece by YBA Sarah Lucas, called “The Sperm Thing,” of a soccer ball, steel bucket, and pantyhose. The show is up until July 1^st, and “The Dinner Party” is a permanent installation at the Center, and a trip to the Brooklyn Museum is always worth it, no matter how you slice it. I hope that young people will not be steered away from the Center because of the bold and challenging material it will present in fulfillment of its mission. At last there will be an ongoing opportunity for the public to take in the diverse expressions of female artists, to see beyond the depiction of women as artist’s model, Virgin Mother, martyred saint, or whore, and most importantly, to learn.

I’ve already written too much here, but have to add a quick addendum:

Three other things worth checking out at the Brooklyn Museum are:

1) A small exhibition of women ceramacists, including several wonderful pieces by Eva Zeisel

2) A fantastic, extensive survey of American Art on the fifth floor from the museum’s incredible collection.

3) Also on the fifth floor, the Visible Storage & Study Center in the Luce Center for American Art. You can wander in here and see, through acrylic cases, a vast warehouse of stored items. Gives you a glimpse into behind-the-scenes inner workings of the museum, and it’s simply fantastic.

What you constantly overhear at the Brooklyn Museum is people saying to their companions “I love this museum! This is such a great museum!” And they’re right. The Brooklyn Museum, with its focus on education (great signage, often bilingual), mission of serving a diverse community, and massive, first-rate collection could easily be considered our city’s finest. Add to that easy accessibility by subway, low admission fees, friendliness to people of all ages and those with disabilities, and proximity to the Botanical Gardens, and you just have to ask yourself what have you been waiting for?

[Images from top to bottom: 1& 2: Judy Chicago (U.S.A., b. 1939),The Dinner Party, 1974–1979, Mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, and textile, 48 x 42 x 3’ (14.6 x 12.8 x .9 m), Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center Foundation © Judy Chicago, © Polshek Partnership Architects. Image 3, Hatshepsut plate from The Dinner Party, 1974–1979, Mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, and textile, 48 x 42 x 3’ (14.6 x 12.8 x .9 m), Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center Foundation © Judy Chicago. Image 4: Jenny Saville (UK, b. 1970), Fulcrum, 1999, Oil on canvas 8′7″ x 16′w, Gagosian Gallery, NY. Image 5: Miwa Yanagi (Japan, b. 1967) Yuka, from the My Grandmothers series, 2000 Chromogenic print on Plexiglas, mounted on aluminum, 63 x 63″ (160 x 160 cm) Collection of Linda Pace, San Antonio, Texas © Miwa Yanagi, photo courtesy of the artist. Image 6: Oreet Ashery (Israel, b 1966) Self Portrait as Marcus Fisher I, From the Portrait of Marcus Fisher I-IV Series, 2000, Lambda Print, 47 x 37″, edition of 7, lent by the artist and Foxy Production, NY, and supported by Arts Council England. Image 7: Boryana Rossa (Bulgaria, b. 1972) Celebrating the Next Twinkling (Praznuvane na sledvascia mig), 1999 Single-channel video, color, sound, 2 min. 45 sec., edition of 2 Private collection (Photos: courtesy of the artist). Image 8: Sarah Lucas (UK b 1962) The Sperm Thing, 2006. Steel buckedt, cast concrete football, and nylon tights, 20 x 76 x 21:, Collection of Murderme, London. Image 8: Eva Zeisel (American, b. Hungary), Salt and pepper shakers, 1946. Image 9: The visible storage at Brooklyn Museum)

Easter week at the Met was a mob scene. I found myself trying to imagine the least popular areas to get away from the crowds but i wasn’t passing up the opportunity to visit the 20th century wing. my focus on the people brought me to a realization which had escaped me in the past. A good percentage of the visitors were snapping pictures with their cell phones. What do they do with these pictures?

I have a pretty good cell phone but the pictures are still not as good as the ones on the internet of just about everything in the Met.

Are these trophies? Bagged to increase the stature of the clicker in his social circle. Are they aligning themselves with something perceived to be greater than the everyday?

I noticed the following in an article about the movie Passio being performed this week at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. Yes performed, it’s a silent film accompanied by Trinity Choir performing the Arvo Pärt composition St. John Passion.

Mankind’s Appetite for Destruction in the 20th Century

“The movie evokes a theme that has increasingly surfaced in the contemporary world of media inundation. It suggests how our obsession with studying, multiplying and beautifying our images robs us of our humanity. Instead of contemplating paintings in a museum, visitors prefer to take pictures of them with their digital cameras. Reality television is unreality. And in the movies, violent, digitally enhanced spectacle is steadily subverting human drama. Studying life through a camera’s lens turns us into detached observers reluctant to tear ourselves away from the role of clinical voyeur to take action against the very inhumanity we witness and record.”

By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: April 27, 2007

What’s the story here? Do we not have enough time to contemplate so we’ll TIVO life and hopefully get to it later? How many Cd’s have I bought that I haven’t had time to listen to more than once? I rarely watch a film more than once so why own the DVD? Am I increasing my social stature with my vast library of media I could choose to access at any time but I’m so important I don’t have time for such things.

I saw an interesting film on Demand through Showtime. The film wasn’t as interesting as the story told as preface. it was part of the “This American Life” series episode 4 “The Camera Man”.

The part that intrigued me was an animated short by cartoonist Chris Ware about the danger observing life from behind the safe distance of a camera lens. Chris told a story about a grade school phenomenon which had a bad outcome. The kids in the playground took to playing tv show games. Interviewing each other with cardboard cameras and developing competing “networks” to get the exclusive story. A cute game until the whole schoolyard was caught reporting the news as two kids beat the shit out of each other. The teachers  took all the cameras away and the trend was over.

What about us? Whole take our cameras away? How many home video scenes will we be outraged at before we realize someone was standing around filming this and not doing or saying anything? How far away from the art can we get? If I capture art in my phone is that enough? Will I be safe then? Can i avoid participating if I’m recording?

World Premiere
Ashes of a Dead Frog
Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Bergen Community College, Anna Maria Ciccone Theater

Polish Choreographer and Innovator Jacek Luminski Makes Exhilarating New Choreography for the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Fort Lee, NJ – The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company (NNCDC) will perform Ashes of a Dead Frog by
guest choreographer Jacek Luminski during Bergen Community College’s presents Bergen DanceMakers in Connecting Flights in the Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre on Saturday, May 12, 2007, 7:30 PM.
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, one of New Jersey’s most outstanding dance companies and a national leader in contemporary and Chinese-American dance, commissioned Jacek Luminski, choreographer of the Silesian Dance Theatre (SDT) Poland’s premiere contemporary dance company to choreograph on the NNCDC members a work that blends his powerful and athletic style with Nai-Ni Chen’s graceful and commanding technique.  The result is a passionate work that mixes traditional with contemporary movements and partnering steeped in an “East meets West” melding of strength and spirit.

During the past three years, NNCDC has toured throughout Poland to much acclaim, bringing American modern dance and traditional Chinese culture to the Polish people. Nai-Ni’s choreography is valued in both the dance and theatre worlds in Eastern Europe, as was evident when the Company presented Ms. Chen’s contemporary works during SDT’s Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference/Festival in Bytom and her mixed-media work, Dragons on the Wall, a collaborative piece with Chinese poet Bei Dao, at Lublin’s prestigious Konfrontations International Theater Festival, where her peers from around the world were awed by the visual beauty, gentle athleticism and powerful philosophy characteristic of her work.

Throughout the Company’s tours in Poland, Ms. Chen and Mr. Luminski’s had opportunities to observe each other’s classes and work, and exchange ideas about their unique choreographic philosophy and movement style, and initiated an international exchange project.  During SDT’s Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference/Festival the NNCDC members became familiar with Luminski’s movements and choreographic style and with support from CEC Artslink and a deep commitment from the NNCDC and SDT, Mr. Luminski was able to work in New York and New Jersey with those dancers to create Ashes of a Dead Frog.  To reciprocate, Ms. Chen will choreograph a piece on Mr. Luminski’s company in the near future.

Premiere
– Saturday, May 12, 7:30 pm

Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre
Bergen Community College

400 Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ 07652

directions: www.bergen.edu/directions parking
in lot A

Box Office: 201-447-7428

Reserved seating, advance ticket purchase recommended

Richter, via Winkleman via Saltz:

“The much-maligned ‘art scene’ of the present day,” he wrote, “is perfectly harmless and even pleasant, if you don’t judge it in terms of false expectations. It has nothing to do with those traditional values that we hold high (or that hold us high). It has virtually nothing whatever to do with art. That’s why the ‘art scene’ is neither base, cynical, nor mindless: it is a scene of brief blossoming and busy growth, just one variation on the never-ending round of social game-playing that satisfies our need for communication, alongside such others as sport, fashion, stamp-collecting and cat-breeding. Art takes shape in spite of it all, rarely and always unexpectedly; art is never feasible.”

“But why now? The resurgence could in part be a response to contemporary life—to globalization and the desire for a universal language…”

One of many intriguing ideas in a new ArtNews article, “The New Abstraction,” by Barbara A. MacAdam, via Arts & Letters.

Just a reminder that Artists Unite ISSUE is soliciting arts writing, including reviews, essays, and creative writing. There is an honorarium for selected work. Submit story ideas or finished pieces to editor@artistsunite-ny.org. Do it now! Time’s running out.

via wnyc:

Thirty years ago, Venezuela’s music education program started with 11 students. Now, a quarter of a million kids participate in the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System. Today we find out what the United States can learn from “El Systema.”

If you did a piece for the latest art spark, it’s due to me by the end of the day. We’ll have a special double exhibit airing next week!

Click the Now:Here:This link for more details on how to participate.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
Danny Simmons Corridor Gallery
Saturday, April 14, 2007, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
334 Grand Ave/Brooklyn, NY 11238

A provocative live discussion w/ six creators who exist outside the mainstream, or whose work addresses communities that exist on the margins.
With writer-performer Liza Jessie Peterson; singer-songwriter Martha Redbone; musician/activist Vernon Reid; photographer/mixed-media artist Dread Scott; and writer/director Charles Stone. Moderator: Spoken-word artist Toni Blackman.

Those of who you who attended our first Full Spectrum panel discussion, “Beyond Post-Colonialism,” with creators Staceyann Chin, Wanghechi Mutu, Gabri Christa, DK Rekha, and moderator Greg Tate, know that the event attracted about 150 people, and the discussion was revealing, real, provocative, and intense. Folks came to talk, listen, and build community; and since then we’ve all been anticipating Part Two.

Big news: Part Two happens this Saturday afternoon, and it will be hot. The panel features six incredible creators and once again the forum is free, so come early to get a good seat. Details below. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this one…

FULL SPECTRUM presents “The Outsiders”
Sat. April 14, 2-5pm @Danny Simmons Corridor Gallery

For info: www.artistsFS.com/blog/

Danny Simmons Corridor Gallery
334 Grand Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Between Gates & Greene · Clinton Hill
C to Clinton-Washington · G to Clinton-Washington

www.toniblackman.com · www.lizajessiepeterson.com · www.martharedbone.com ·
www.myspace.com/vernonreid · www.dreadscott.net

Kurt Vonnegut was certainly an example in endurance. As a young man, his mother went mad and committed suicide. Then, after experiencing a horrifying stint in a German POW camp in WWII, he and his wife (who had three children of their own), adopted his sister’s three children after she died of cancer and her husband died the following day in a train crash. We think of his fame, but he struggled as a writer, “…To bolster his income, he taught emotionally disturbed children, worked at an advertising agency and at one point started a Saab auto dealership.”

Some more excerpts from the obituary in the NY Times:

To Mr. Vonnegut, the only possible redemption for the madness and apparent meaninglessness of existence was human kindness. The title character in his 1965 novel, “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine,” summed up his philosophy:

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

In Chicago, Mr. Vonnegut worked as a police reporter for the City News Bureau. He also studied for a master’s degree in anthropology at the University of Chicago, writing a thesis on “The Fluctuations Between Good and Evil in Simple Tales.” It was rejected unanimously by the faculty. (The university finally awarded him a degree almost a quarter of a century later, allowing him to use his novel “Cat’s Cradle” as his thesis.)

After the publication of Slaughterhouse-Five, Mr. Vonnegut went into a severe depression and vowed never to write another novel. Suicide was always a temptation, he wrote. In 1984, he tried to take his life with sleeping pills and alcohol.

When the last living thing
has died on account of us,
how poetical it would be
if Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor
of the Grand Canyon,
“It is done.”
People did not like it here.

(Kurt Vonnegut, from Requiem)

With music and art, including a video projection piece by Pablo Tauler. (also see www.pablotauler.com)

Please create a piece of art for this week’s Now:Here:This art spark and be part of the exhibition that emerges from the idea of creating community around an intention to work together. Details on the Now:Here:This page.

Thursday April 12 The Piper's Kilt presents 8-11pm (no cover)
THE NEW JAZZ TRIO
BEBOP TUMBAO
THURSDAY April 12th
The Piper's Kilt  is located on
4944 Broadway New York, NY 10034 ( INWOOD NYC A TRAIN to 207th st) One of
the Best Burgers in town  212.569.7071

BEBOP TUMBAO IS  Pianist  ELI YAMIN and Percussionist/Drummer Annette A
Aguilar
with Mr.Tumbao on the bass RUBEN RODRIGUEZ

If your in the INhood come to one of the places which was the only place to
get good  Burgers, Buffalo wings and Draft  Beer in  Alto Manhattan .
The one and only Pipers Kilt in INwood.  (I did grow up eating rice and
Beans and that was the only thing up here, not that  I don't like my BEANS!)
they are now having live jazz!.
If you can take the train or cab, you are better off.  Parking is a
challenge.
A Train to 207th st.

previously featured:
one layer closer to Truth on Double Edge Theatre;
Exhibition Review: The American Academy of Arts & Letters
Interview: Hal Hartley

AN INVITATION TO ARTISTS There are 4 small street level windows available for the exhibition of artwork at the office of Benjamin Metrick DDS. His office is located at] 536 Ft.Washington Avenue, Suite E. Two windows face Ft. Washington Avenue: The window with the unobstructed view is 23″ w x 28 ” h. The window below (with an ornamental security grate) is 29″ h x 29″ w. Two windows face the main courtyard entrance of 536 Ft. Washington Avenue: The window with the unobstructed view is 23″ w x 27″ h. The window below (with an ornamental security grate) is 23″ w x 26″ h. The reception area of Dr. Metrick’s office can also accommodate larger artwork that could hang within a wall space of 36″ h x 56 ” w. These windows will be seen by residents of the neighborhood, passengers on the extremely busy A Train, and clients of Dr. Metrick. For further information please contact Dr. Metrick at 212.795.8989.

in case you haven’t heard enough, Shaun at juxtaviews, a site that discusses “things web” gave me a great set of questions about community vis-a-vis the web, as well as some juicy artmaking questions. Check out the cool site and take a read.

For those of you who have thought, if only I had a great publicity machine behind me, I’d have [fill in the blank],
here’s an interesting experiment: What would occur if one of the world’s great violinists performed incognito before a traveling rush-hour audience of 1,000-odd people? via the Washington Post, can you believe Joshua Bell gave it a try?

on WNYC’s Soundcheck (available online)

Since April 2002 Soundcheck has covered music from every conceivable style and genre. We’ve also seen “the end of the genre,” as crossover artists, reinvented styles and truly unclassifiable bands have made their way to the studio. Today, a look at the breakdown of genre boundaries with Bill Bragin, director of Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, and Ryan Schreiber, the founding editor of Pitchfork Media.