Moma's PS1 currently has a display on view called "Pole Dance" which is the work of the architectural firm Solid Objectives, winner of the eleventh annual MoMA/MoMA PS1Young Architects Program. The project is an interactive environment of sand and pebbles along with, among other things, poles that hold up a netting which is used for holding yoga balls. While it was hard for me to see how this work addressed the program's current goal of "focus[ing] on designs which address sustainability, recycling, and reuse", it was kinda neat. I can't say I really appreciated the sound design, which was a bit shrill and distorted and therefore rather unpleasant despite not being terribly loud. Had it not felt like an afterthought I might have given it a break, but considering it was nothing more than a sensor on each pole triggering independent sounds, those sounds should have at least been pleasant and playful, like the rest of the exhibit.

What really took the day, though, was having the chance to see Kyra Johannesen and some of her other pole dancing super stars actually perform a dance routine on the poles. Sadly that was not part of the regular exhibit, and just a one-time thing, but I managed to snap a few photos.

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Maya Erdelyi-Perez

From ice sculpting at the Ice Hotel in the Arctic to staging renegade fashion shows in the Paris subway system, the life of New York born artist Maya Erdelyi-Perez is not unlike one of her own surreal animated films.  On the eve of shooting a new music video, Maya chats with me about illegal subway spectacles, collaborating with band No Surrender and Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio and her upcoming exhibit this Saturday night.

Helle Mardahl looking relaxed just a few days before her first NYC show opens up

 It's not often that you meet someone who says she gave up her successful career to become an artist because she was sick of working so hard for so little money. But that's how Helle Mardahl came to be an artist. In fact, she told me, "I believe in destiny and destiny told me to calm down a bit."

 I met Mardahl recently at LaViolaBank Gallery, where she was preparing for her upcoming show, The Largest Possible Audience. She was white-washing a canvas in preparation for a projection, which seemed more like a Zen exercise than work. We discussed her art and her previous career in fashion and I noticed that she certainly had the energy, passion and vigor of someone in fashion, but at the same time I also noticed an air of relaxation and even contentment about her. The satisfaction she seems to have found in developing the complex and intricate works she was putting up might have surprised her a few years ago, but her drive and determination didn't mean she had the manic furvor I've seen in so many fashion designers.

 Despite the complexity of her works, she explained her ideas and inspiration in very simple terms. People's obsession with the royal family, which inspired her last show, and people's desire for attention which inspired this show, are so simple that you don't have to be a 'tellectual to understand what she's talking about.

Artist Justine Bassani

    I distinctly remember the first time I glimpsed Ms. Justine Marie Bassani's paintings in her artfully cluttered downtown apartment. That she was abundantly talented was obvious, but perhaps less obvious were the emotions she was trying to convey through her work -- or rather the emotions they evoked in me. Most of Justine's paintings were marginally distorted portraits of women often appearing lost in thought, on the brink of revelation, or embroiled in some sort of inner turmoil. I remember feeling vaguely disturbed when I studied her paintings closely; almost as though I was intruding on the subjects' most vulnerable, intimate moments. However, I also felt empowered by the strength and defiance the characters seemed to exude.

Nice... ahem... bike rack reminds us of Times Square of our youth.
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Thanks to bike enthusiast David Byrne you can checkout great racks all over the city. You might remember David Byrne as an artist or perhaps as singer of the Talking Heads.

This lovely piece of art, which will be sold after it's been shown for a year, is being shown close to Times Square. This is Times Square more or less how I remember it. For those looking for a smarter rack, you can head over to the fashion district...