Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, JAN. 08, 2014

Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939
Author Thomas Doherty in conversation with David Denby, The New Yorker

As Europe lurched toward war, the drama in Hollywood played out both on and off screen. Doherty offers a provocative look at how studio heads, writers, and other important players wrestled with difficult business and artistic decisions that arose with the Nazis’ rise to power

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Against the Odds: American Jews and the Rescue of Europe’s Refugees, 1933-1941. Tour the exhibition at 6 P.M. Pre-registration for the tour is suggested.
Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, 36 Battery Place
at 7PM / $15
646-437-4202 / mjhnyc.org

Lee Billings talks about his book Five Billion Years of Solitude,
with Caleb Scharf
The age-old question of whether we’re alone in the universe – or if other life forms thrive among the stars – gets a brand new examination from science writer Lee Billings through his book, “Five Billion Years of Solitude.”

In this critically-acclaimed volume, Lee charts the history of man’s quest to determine what other Earth-like planets may exist in the universe .
Joining Lee for the evening will be Caleb Scharf, director of the Columbia Astrobiology Center at Columbia University. Caleb is the author of “Gravity’s Engines: The Other Side of Black Holes,” and is the winner of the 2011 Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award as well as a medal from the American Astronomical Society. His blog on Scientific American is called Life, Unbound.



Buy a copy of Five Billion Years of Solitude or a $15 Strand gift card in order to attend this event. All options admit one person.
Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway
At 7PM / in the Strand’s 3rd floor Rare Book Room
212-473-1452 / strandbooks.com

“BLUE NOTE’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY”
“On January 6, 1939, Blue Note Records’ first recording session took place in New York City, with the boogie-woogie piano avatars Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons. Harking back to that day and celebrating the label’s three-quarters of a century, two mesmerizing pianists—Robert Glasper and Jason Moran—take the stage at Town Hall; guests include the saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and the singer-songwriter Bilal. The show is part of the Winter Jazzfest”
Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St. (btw 6^{th Ave} / Broadway)
at 8PM / $27-$47
212-840-2824

Christian McBride Big Band (through Jan. 12)
“This spit-and-polish outfit, which won a recent Grammy for best large jazz ensemble album, thrives on the robust energies of its namesake bassist-bandleader. It’ll be the first of two weeks with his name on the Village Vanguard marquee; the second, starting Jan. 14, will feature his effervescent trio.” (Chinen-NYT)
Village Vanguard, 178 7th Avenue South, at 11th St., West Village,
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m./ $25 to $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.
(212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change. ===============================================================================

Chelsea is the heart of the NYCity contemporary art scene. Home to more than 300 art galleries, the Rubin Museum, the Joyce Theater, and The Kitchen performance spaces, there is no place like it anywhere in the world.

Come here to browse free exhibitions by world-renowned artists and those unknowns waiting to be discovered in an art district that is concentrated between West 18th and West 27th Streets, and 10th and 11th Avenues.

Afterwards stop in the Chelsea Market, stroll on the High Line, or rest up at one of the many cafes and bars and discuss the fine art – my fave is Ovest on W 27th St., where the aperitivo is like Happy Hour on steroids.

WHAT’S ON VIEW: Here are 3 Special Exhibitions in Chelsea Galleries that you may want to see:

Bing Wright (through Jan 18)
Over the years, Wright’s photography has been marked by a focus on surface as metaphor for the photograph itself, with his work achieving a poetical stillness as a result. The photos here, for example, include his color series “Broken Mirror/Evening Sky,” in which the setting sun is seen reflected within the cracks of a shattered mirror, scattering the oranges and violets of dusk to an almost stained-glass effect.
Paula Cooper Gallery 521 W 21st St, (between Tenth and Eleventh Aves)
Tue-Sat 10am-6pm
212-255-1105 / paulacoopergallery.com

“Martin Thompson: Positive/Negative” (through Jan 18)
This self-taught artist and mathematician from New Zealand creates mind-bogglingly intricate felt-tip pen drawings on graph paper that resemble the pixelated results of an Amish quilt mating with an old-school video game such as Pac-Man or Space Invaders.

Each piece is made according to a numerical formula that Thompson follows as he precisely fills in each square. When he makes a mistake, which he sometimes does, he excises the offending part of the composition with a scalpel, replacing it with a Scotch-taped piece of corrected paper that exactly fits over the elided area—creating, in the bargain, a textural effect. Suffering from a mental disorder that makes it difficult for him to interact with people, Thompson views making art as a coping mechanism for dealing with the world.
Ricco/Maresca Gallery, 529 W 20th St, third floor, (btw 10th/11th ave)
Tue–Sat 11am–6pm
212-627-4819 / riccomaresca.com

Richard Serra, “New Sculpture” (until Sat. Jan. 25, 2014)
Gagosian’s double dose of Richard Serra presents dueling sides of the sculptor: the popular artist name checked in a Vampire Weekend song, and the confrontational figure familiar from his earlier career.

The gallery’s West 21st Street location presents the former in fine form, with a single massive work. Curling ribbons of steel, set on edge and towering to ceiling height, nestle together to create Serra’s signature bowing and curving of space. They swallow viewers up in a phenomenological ecstasy one usually associates with, say, walking along a narrow canyon. The metal’s russet color only adds to the sensation of experiencing something more natural than man-made.

The tone, if not the scale, of the work shifts on West 24th Street, with a group of sculptures and nary a bend in sight. Hard-edged steel plates, patinated a carceral gray, get in your way like barricades around a government building. A set of enormous blocks serves as a memorial to the recently deceased sculptor Walter De Maria, a friend of Serra’s. Experiential warmth gives way to cold truths as Serra employs his legendary toughness to challenge not only gravity, but death itself.—(Howard Halle/TONY mag)
Gagosian Gallery, 522 W 21st St, btw 10th/11th Aves
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm
212-741-1717 / gagosian.com

For a listing of 25 essential galleries in the Chelsea Art Gallery District, organized by street, which enables you to create your own Chelsea Art Gallery crawl, see the Chelsea Gallery Guide (nycgo.com)

Or check out TONY magazine’s list of the “Best Chelsea Galleries” and click through to see what’s on view.

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (01/06) and (01/04).