Yo Miriam!... Spic Up!

In the wee hours of the night, after most of El Museo’s staff has left the building, the Public Programs gang (a humble Argentinean and beautiful Ecuadorian goddess) is still finalizing the million details that just one program requires! Just dealing with artists, authors, and poets, with different needs, different personalities and from different area codes, while jumping back and forth from English and Spanish to please them all. Imagine that you not only had one, but two or three programs in one week. The adrenaline rush is incredible as the time comes to open the curtains. Nevertheless, nothing beats the opportunity of being able to work codo a codo with the artists that you admire!

Although we strive to present a very diverse vision for El Museo’s public programs, we would be lying if we told you that the upcoming session of SPIC UP! is not completely biased.

WE LOVE EMANUEL XAVIER!!!!!! So join the club this Saturday! Come over and enjoy this great poet!

SPIC UP! Speak out! Latino Spoken Word Open Mic
Saturday April 19, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Def Poetry's Emanuel Xavier curates and hosts an evening celebrating the many contributions of Latino/a spoken word artists to the poetry scene. Stepping up to the mic, together for one night: Def Poetry on Broadway's Lemon; Def Poetry's Rachel McKibbens; El David; True; and special musical guest, DGuevaras. Featured performances will be immediately followed by a Latino/a open mic hosted by Emanuel Xavier.

Behind every good man there is a great woman

As my mother used to tell me, behind every good man there is a great woman. This quote is a prime example to describe Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude are one of the contemporary art world’s most celebrated power couples. Last week, the members of the Patrons Circle of El Museo were invited to a private tour of the couple’s studio. We were greeted by a very energetic and passionate Jeanne-Claude who immediately took us to view their gallery.

Jeanne-Claude met the group in the gallery and recounted tales from their work and provided anecdotes about their life together. He mentioned such works as the Wrapping of the Building and the Surrounding of the Islands in Biscayne Bay among others.

After a little time passed, Jeanne-Claude called Christo to come down and speak to us a little about their current work in progress. Christo is a bit shy when it comes to the more personal questions so he came downstairs to meet us until his wife requested his presence.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude are a husband and wife who together create environmental artworks in urban and rural sites. They both go by their first names only, and were born on the same day in 1935, he in Bulgaria and she in Morocco to a French military family.

They met in Paris in 1958 and instantly fell in love. She became an artist for him, as she said “if he would have been a dentist she would have been one too.” In the few minutes we shared with them it was apparent that she is the motor that keeps the machine running.

The most striking fact about this amazing couple is that they share so many beautiful works of art with the public for free! They accept no public contributions, grants or any other financial assistance, preferring to make their aesthetic decisions apart from any financial influence. They earn all of their money through the sale of the preparatory studies, early works from the 50s and 60s, and original lithographs on many other subjects.

Spontaneous, passionate and natural Jeanne-Claude shared with us a very unforgettable evening, filled with art and love. Both Jean-Claude and Christo are deeply devoted to their craft, and each other.

It is plain to see that they rely heavily on each other for their inspiration and motivation. One without the other just wouldn’t be a masterpiece.

Progressive Pulse just released this video interview with Curator Deborah Cullen and artist Tunga from the Arte no es Vida opening, check it out.

El Museo from an 8 year old's perspective

As any parent will tell you, as soon as you have kids you can’t stop talking about them! My days are usually filled with meetings, e-mails, and phone calls, but before all that, before my professional life begins, I get to have breakfast with my two kids. Elinor is 4 ½ and Alexandre will be 8 in a couple of days. All things considered they get along quite well (except those times when Alexandre, who is a great admirer of Tintin books, insists on calling his sister Milou only to infuriate her). After breakfast, Alexandre and I walk together to his school at P.S. 199 often talking about what we will do during the weekend.

Whoever said New York is not a great place for kids has obviously not lived here long enough to discover it. I have often taken Elinor and Alexandre to many cultural organizations and they always have a blast at the events organized for children. At El Museo, every third for Saturday of the month we have bilingual workshops which give kids the opportunity to make art projects and they are a great opportunity to teach children about Latino, Latin American and Caribbean art. They are truly worthwhile. Come see for yourself and don’t forget to bring your kids.

I was recently invited by the Alliance Federation for the Arts to write something for their Seasonal Kids Calendar. I couldn’t think of anyone better to interview but my son Alexandre and I think you will enjoy reading it. After this experience, I realized the importance of focus groups and I learned that visitor information gathering should always start at home.

Please enjoy this verbatim account of his favorite cultural organizations in New York City.

—Julian Zugazagoitia

Go Green East Harlem

At El Museo’s 31^st Annual Three Kings Day Parade, showing the camels who’s in charge.

While I’m waiting simultaneously for a great snowstorm or for it to get warm enough to go ice-skating without being completely freezing, one might as well stay home and get cozy and cook up a little somethin’ somethin’. Luckily, a very timely and very lovely publication, The Go Green East Harlem Cookbook, is now in my hands thanks to an upcoming event we are hosting at El Museo this Wednesday. The cookbook itself features healthy recipes from chefs and other characters of el barrio such as our own Director, and the event will include a contest among three of the top recipes in the book, with tastings prepared by neighborhood restaurants like Camaradas, El Paso Taquería and La Fonda Boricua. Should tide us over until the greenmarkets with all of the upstate and NJ farmers’ produce start popping up around the city come spring…the one up here on 99^th and Madison even sells epazote and poblanos for some really local flavor.

Some of El Museo’s members are going down to Philadelphia to see the la gran celebración de Frida Kahlo, which is inspiring me to get some pals together for our own little day trip. We’ve been seeing her on mousepads, totebags (or if you ask some of my friends they report having seen her out dancing and drinking on Halloween), so it will be nice to see the old gal “in person”. How do you separate the artist from their work? The cultural phenomenon from the integrity of the artist? Arte ES Vida, indeed…!

And instead of dragging my co-workers ice-skating with me, I want to reprise a certain karaoke episode from this summer. But since much of the staff grew up listening to Hombres G instead of Wham!, we need to find a good place with lots of songs in Spanish. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, déjenme saber. And thanks to David Handschuh for the photo!

-Lauren

"Arte no es Vida"

Deborah Cullen curated this highly interesting show that takes a historical look at four decades of Performance Art in Latin America and Latinos living in the U.S. It gives a fresh perspective never seen or experienced before as an exhibition. I recommend that you visit El Museo and let yourself be transported to where these actions took place. I assure you that the works will enlighten your knowledge of the social, artistic and political history of these countries (U.S. included). Many of these works were produced (or were informed) under politically or socially repressive circumstances. Art may have the power to produce conscious thought and reflection but the basic premise of this show is that art is not equal to real life lived under troubled conditions. The ephemeral is a characteristic of performance art. The only way of going back in time to a performative action is through its documentation. Arte no es Vida translates into a visual archive of historical information.

Just as every opening at El Museo, this one was a lot of fun; Rums of Puerto Rico, music, great energy. We had the opportunity to meet many artists who traveled from abroad to be here for this fresh take on the history of performance art. Live performances by Raphael Montañez Ortiz, Tania Bruguera and Tunga made the night even more vibrant! The after party was at Camaradas in El Barrio! We packed the place and danced to the tunes of the Boricua roots music of Yerbabuena!

Camaradas is for Camaradas! A word of revolutionary connotations meaning colleage, friend!! So mi querido camarada! Come live Arte no es Vida!! You'll see how you'll find Vida en Arte!!! You’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Rebeca Noriega-Costas
Special Projects Coordinator
El Museo del Barrio