For our latest entry into the canon of affordable art, we’re looking to New York’s venerable Housing Works, a chain of thrift shops with notably high-end secondhand merchandise. The charitable organization recently received a thirteen painting stash from the estate of local painter Geri Taper, who died in 2004. She may or may not be collected by MoMA (the estate says yes, but MoMA’s online database has no record of Taper), but it matters not, as the auction — which started yesterday and runs through April 28 — is chock full of reasonably priced, boldly graphic modern paintings. Check out our picks after the jump and learn a bit more about Taper and Housing Works.
The evening commenced with oddball musician Peter Stampfel and the Ether Frolic Mob. The farcical performance of the eponymous Stampfel, who howled and grimaced comically while playing souring notes throughout the set, made one wonder if Christopher Guest was filming a sequel for A Mighty Wind from somewhere in the back. Read More »
Everyone knew last Friday’s one-off collaboration between NYC art-rock outfit Dirty Projectors and Icelandic pop institution Björk would be epic. The real question was, HOW big would it be?
Brokered by Stereogum’s Brandon Stosuy, the meeting of the (very weird) minds took place after Projectors’ Dave Longstreth composed a piece — an ode to whales and Mount Wittenberg — specifically for the Icelandic singer. The six-song suite got its premiere at the home of Flavorpill friend Housing Works (a charity bookstore working to help homeless individuals living with AIDS) in front of an intimate audience of about 300.
With the likes of M.I.A., David Byrne, Kieran Hebden, Haley Joel Osment (?), and St. Vincent in attendance, the crowd was almost as interesting as the singers on stage. After the jump, ten images of the event followed by ten anecdotes you won’t see anywhere else (including song descriptions and a report on the wanderings of David Byrne, M.I.A., and a freaky Vincent Gallo look-alike).
Today at Flavorpill when we were supposed to be busy working… we contemplated the myriad ways that Paul Deen is trying to kill us with food, we watched Beyonce put a ring on it more times than we’d like to admit, laughed at William Shatner’s less than enthusiastic response to the J.J. Abrams’s newly-released Star Trek trailer, fell in love with the beard of the modern metrognome, and contemplated checking out Hanson when they hit Housing Works in New York for World AIDS Day.
