These principals of the architectural firm WORKac found it challenging to design their own home. The psychological complexity of domestic life? The culmination of years of thought? “The hardest thing about designing our house was that we just haven’t designed a lot of houses.” Produced with the Center for Architecture. Photo: Harry Willks.
The artistic director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company summarizes his aesthetic: “The curtain goes up, twenty minutes happen, the curtain comes down, and it is transformative.” Easy to say, brilliant to achieve. And they do.
Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first woman president, is a lifelong force for social justice, says Ciaran Madden, Ireland’s Consul General in New York. And she is admired around the world, adds Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland’s U.N. Ambassador: “Say the words Mary Robinson and it lights up at the U.N.” Imagine: mention your country’s president and get … Continue reading »
As a child, he loved the Coney Island Aquarium but, “as with all good things, eventually one develops very complicated feelings.” Is the aquarium a benign collection of wonders or a shameful treasure-house of imperialism? And either way, how’s the gift shop? A conversation at the Princeton Public Library with the classicist and author … Continue reading »
Every dramatic movie but nearly no straight play uses musical underscoring. This celebrated playwright has astute ideas about why that is. Plus, what she did instead of going drinking with James Baldwin. A conversation at Signature Theatre with music from – yes! – Suzan-Lori Parks and the band. Person: James Baldwin Place: Fort Knox … Continue reading »
“I love peonies, but wait a second, they’re fake; I hate them.” An architectural historian considers the contradictions of artificial flowers and the unnatural nature of Central Park. A conversation at the Bard Graduate Center about the “fake” – her word – and the real, with music from Amiri and Rahiem Taylor. Photo by … Continue reading »
A novelist and Pulitzer-winning columnist, when she was in college she babysat Maggie Haberman, who grew up to be a terrific political reporter. A torch is passed, a head is spinning: mine. Plus music from the splendid quartet Ethel; some other part of my body is awhirl. PERSON: Charles Dickens PLACE: 229 West 43 … Continue reading »
Decades ago she was aiming for med school until she read the college catalogs. “Some of them were polite and said, ‘Not accepting negro students at this time,’” she recalls. “I guess come back in twenty years.” I’d have plunged into rage and despair; she became a first-rate science writer. A conversation at Columbia … Continue reading »
His new documentary, The King, sees Elvis Presley as a symbol of the rise and fall of America. So where does that leave Col. Parker, Elvis’s manager, widely disparaged for exploiting Elvis? “We deserve what we get,” says Jarecki, referring both to democracy and rock’n’roll. But do we? I didn’t vote for Trump. A … Continue reading »
Is a musical performance akin to a political speech? Yes. And no. Two friends, an Irish fiddle player and an American political strategist, consider the question at the Irish Arts Center. With music from, well yes, of course, Martin Hayes. We’re not boneheads. Photo by Anthony Mulcahy. PERSON: Hillary Clinton PLACE: Lake Shore Drive … Continue reading »
She has been fighting HIV-AIDS around the world for 3 decades and believes that her patients and their supporters offer broader lessons: “People who are affected by cancer, for example, have learned a lot from the HIV movement.” Broader still, the public health efforts she champions are a model for democratic governance – egalitarian, … Continue reading »
When a beloved spouse dies, we confront profound questions and also mundane matters. “Do you keep wearing your ring? When do you take it off?” asks Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, widow of Dr. Paul Kalanithi who wrote When Breath Becomes Air. She faces both with grace and insight. A surprisingly hopeful – joyful – conversation … Continue reading »
Much admired for his his autobiographical novels, including A Boy’s Own Story, and his work on French literature and culture, he is unashamed of his youthful craving for fame, noting: “If you say it in French, ‘gloire,’ it sounds better.” Well, sure: what doesn’t? A conversation at La Maison Française with music from Rich Jenkins. PERSON: … Continue reading »
The graphics he created for the Jets, BAM, Hillary Clinton et al are not merely decorative but can bring order out of chaos. He cites his mentor Massimo Vignelli’s designs for the MTA: “We can come up with a system of doing signs to pull this whole unruly crazy system together so no one ever … Continue reading »