Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, APR. 16, 2014.

“Books at Noon with Joyce Carol Oates”
The New York Public Library’s weekly series in Astor Hall (the soaring space just inside the main entry) featuring a writer in conversation with a member of the library’s staff, continues with Joyce Carol Oates.

Joyce Carol Oates is perhaps one of the most prolific writers of her generation with over forty titles to her name, numerous collections of short stories, plays and criticism. She is the recipient of the PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in short fiction and the National Book Award. Her most recent novel is Carthage.
New York Public Library, Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.
12PM / FREE
917-275-6975

Miguel “El Funi”
“With his neat coif, sensuous gyrations and patented white scarf, flamenco dancer Miguel “El Funi” is quite a sight to behold. The veteran performer is no slouch at the mike, either. Here, he plays his first solo concert in NYC in more than two decades.” (TONY)
Elebash Recital Hall (at the CUNY Graduate Center)
365 Fifth Ave., at 34th St.
at 7:00pm / $25,
212-817-7000 / gc.cuny.edu

William Fitzsimmons
“NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is proud to announce William Fitzsimmons in concert in a special performance connecting to the rich folk tradition of Greenwich Village. William Fitzsimmons is equal parts songwriter and psychotherapist, creating captivating music, which uniquely melds depravity, honesty, and autobiography into a counter-intuitive seamless whole.

Since 2005, Fitzsimmons has created three full-length albums, each thoroughly themed and embossed with matters of family history, intimate disclosure, and bold confession, yielding rich folk music, ranging from the stark and acoustic to the voluminous and electronic. All the while reflecting William’s commitment to addressing what is always pressing, and yet all too often ignored. Growing up with two blind parents, sound became extremely important in communicating and relating to one another.

After growing up around music, he set it aside to pursue his education. William received his masters in counseling and worked as a psychotherapist for several years before turning to songwriting. He truly writes the kind of songs that most songwriters dream about; brilliant, heavy, complex and intensely personal…the songs are nothing short of breathtaking.’ (City Guide)
NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Pl.
at 7:30pm / $25-$36
212-352-3101 / nyuskirball.org

Clarence Penn: Monk, The Lost Files
“An alert and dynamic drummer who has worked in a range of postbop settings, Clarence Penn reinterprets Thelonious Monk’s music with this project, featuring Chad Lefkowitz-Brown on saxophone, Makoto Ozone on piano and Yasushi Nakamura on bass.” (Chinen-NYT)
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway,
At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m./ $30 cover, with a $10 minimum
212-258-9595, jalc.org

Cocktail Classics: The Mad Men Era
Relive the glory of three-martini lunches with this Don Draper–inspired bartending session. After slugging back a welcome gimlet, attendees will mix era classics—old-fashioneds, mai tais—alongside Lauren Davis (Raines Law Room).
The Kitchen at Astor Center, 399 Lafayette St., at 4th St.
At 6:30pm/ $79
212-674-7501 / astorcenternyc.com

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

♦ NYCity is a big town with many visitors where quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.

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WHAT’S ON VIEW: Special Exhibitions @ 4 MUSEUMS (Manhattan’s WestSide)

“Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New’ (through April 21)
‘A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio’ (through Oct. 5)
 ‘Designing Modern Women 1890-1990’(through Oct. 5)
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St. (btw 5th /6th Ave.)
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.

Designing Modern Women 1890-1990:

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‘Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital’ (through June 1)
“If you haven’t quite wrapped your head around the concept of 3-D printing, or haven’t yet had a digital scanner wrap itself around you, now you can do both in this survey of computer-assisted art, architecture and design. The show looks at art made since 2005 and fills nearly three floors, including many irresistible interactive projects. Its ideas may not be entirely new; the Museum of Modern Art’s 2008 exhibition “Design and the Elastic Mind” covered much of the same territory, but there’s something to be said for this more down-to-earth, production-focused exhibition.” (Rosenberg-NYT)
Museum of Arts and Design, Columbus Circle,
212-299-7777,madmuseum.org.

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‘Capa in Color’ (through May 4)
“Robert Capa first worked with color in 1938, though he only began shooting regularly in color in 1941. This exhibition includes more than 100 contemporary inkjet prints, a fraction of the roughly 4,200 color transparencies held in the center’s Capa Archive. Sections of the exhibition include photographs of postwar Paris with spectators at the Longchamp racetrack, fashion models, people sitting in cafes. Black and white remained the standard for war photography as well as art during this time, however, and color during Capa’s period was still for commerce, amateurs, leisure — and stories featuring women.”
(Martha Schwendener-NYT)

‘What Is a Photograph?’ (through May 4)
“This exhibition is supposed to address a good question: What is photography in today’s digital age with its mind-boggling new smorgasbord of ways to create and disseminate machine-made images? It brings together works from the past four decades by 21 artists who have used photography to ponder the nature of photography itself. But it’s a strangely blinkered and backward-looking show. Most of what is on view has more to do with photography’s analog past than with its cybernetic future.” (Ken Johnson-NYT)
International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas, at 43rd St.
212-857-0000, icp.org
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The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya (ongoing)
This exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit is the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and features brand-new, never-before-seen pieces by Sawaya. This show was named ‘One of CNN’s Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions.’
Discovery Times Square, 226 West 44th St. (btw 7th/8th ave)
866.987.9692 / http://www.discoverytsx.com

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : … …” dated (04/14) and (04/12).