The Brooklyn Rail, a monthly nonprofit journal, provides an independent forum for arts, culture, and politics throughout New York City and beyond. We feature local reporting, art criticism, fiction, poetry, as well as coverage of politics, music, dance, film, and theater.
We've got a big weekend planned at the Chiesa with poetry, a conversation on Leonardo da Vinci, and a full moon deep listening. Check out our Venice site for full event details and RSVP
https://venice.brooklynrail.org/
Artists Need to Create on the Same Scale that Society Has the Capacity to Destroy: Mare Nostrum
Some June tunes helping us through Tuesday, pulled from our monthly list of the best live shows to see in NYC
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2lEIWH5GnIHxG2Jcr2r0VX?si=qecXPwtXTxyWwAl6gEauzA
Our selections this month start with easy folk-leaning tunes, then leans into experimental noises ranging from pop to a soundtrack for the end of the anthropocene, samples from NYC's avant jazz mainstays and Sun Ra's Arkestra, before slipping into some desert drone bliss to wind down.
We're Proud to present a folio of translated Russophone literature by queer, contemporary writers in this month's translation section. Editor Margarita Meklina writes in her intro, "It took my co-editor Annie Fisher and me almost three years to find Russophone LGBTQ+ writers and to translate them. And it took me almost a year to write this foreword. Internalized homophobia. Shame. The feelings of futility after so many attempts to choose the presidents we want. To choose the sexuality that suits us and makes us comfortable. To choose words that convey the hidden world of suppressed emotions, of muffled identity, of stiffened libido, of undercover embraces."
http://intranslation.brooklynrail.org/home
InTranslation is a venue for outstanding work in translation and a resource for translators, authors, editors, and publishers seeking to collaborate.
We're honored to have an interview with Harold (of Purple Crayon fame) in our May issue! It is possibly the last interview this creative powerhouse will ever give and it is a gem ✨
https://brooklynrail.org/2019/05/criticspage/A-Chance-Encounter
I was delighted to bump into my old friend Harold in Grand Central last Tuesday, literally, as he was busy staring at the celestial ceiling. Not surprising, given his proclivity to look up at the moon. His intrepid nocturnal adventuresas chronicled by Crockett Johnson in his book Harold and the Pu...
New music, guaranteed, on our playlist of the best acts playing in NYC this May. Pulled from selections by our intrepid music editor, we've got psychedelic surf-y jams at the top and guitar experiments at the bottom with a dose of avant-garde hip hop and contemporary jazz in between.
https://open.spotify.com/user/brooklynrailmusic/playlist/4N9kcapdfs2C7JtXiO1OB7?si=m79IJg33QYy2u98wSQBXIg
The best acts you didn't hear about from industry mags playing in NYC this May, selected by our intrepid music editor. This month starts with some psyched-out surf sounds and dives into the hip hop avant-garde before leaning into new work by a few experimental guitarists.
"There was a lot of anger...And at the same time great sweetness, an extreme gentleness among people enjoying a strange and moving coexistence."
A report from the ground on the popular demonstrations stirring in Algiers from Georges Rivière in Field Notes this month. Hopeful signs
https://brooklynrail.org/2019/04/field-notes/This-Street-Is-Ours-We-Are-This-Street
The day after a gigantic human tidal wave invaded Algiers, we all let ourselves go with a feeling of elation and lightness, touched with a certain disquiet about what was to follow.
Our tribute to Carolee Schneemann, compiled lovingly by Thyrza Nichols Goodeve with contributions by some of Carolee's many friends, is live on our site
#caroleeschneemann
https://brooklynrail.org/2019/04/in-memoriam/A-Tribute-to-Carolee-Schneemann-1939-2019
Over a lifetime of making art, pleasure, provocations, home, more art and always arther emotional exactitude and generosity touched the earth, the art world, and the lives of countless human and nonhuman intimates and strangers. We offer this tribute to the artist and frienda loss beyond imagina...
From Cimafunk's Cuban club-funk to Beat Circus's Cormac-McCarthy-novel-worthy Western doom and many things in-between, this month's listings playlist is a trip.
https://open.spotify.com/user/brooklynrailmusic/playlist/2o5SrjKghDsVJIeAchqUk3?si=rzAKf0CMSmyWH9Gq7dKI6Q
A club-funk-forward playlist from our April listings of the most interesting live musical acts to see in NYC this month takes an American Gothic, guitar-heavy dive around the middle. A real sonic road trip this month.
The Rail is getting a makeover this Spring! Over the last 9 months we've been working hard on big changes to our site, starting with our article pages. We're redesigning brooklynrail.org to be easier to read, easier to navigate, less cluttered, more mobile-friendly, and more accessible.
A big part of our mission as a free publication is to provide easy access to our content and while the print edition is still central to who we are, it's long past due for our site to live up to that mission.
The new article pages feature a simplified design with an emphasis on legibility and include a scrolling index of the whole issue in the sidebar so that you can browse for your next read without leaving the article you just finished. They also meet accessibility standards for readers with visual impairments.
Why change just the article page? We wanted to find the fastest way to make a significant impact on the experience the RAIL for the widest number of readers.
A little snapshot of some of the genre-pushing musicians that performed in NYC this month, pulled from our music editor George Grella and Brad Cohan's Highly Selective Listings.
https://open.spotify.com/user/brooklynrailmusic/playlist/5zw3ysGk83EIVwaqRi2bvL?si=B1w_lRD7RJqArfSUgO0Sow
A little snapshot of some of the cutting-edge musicians that performed in NYC this month. Pulled from George Grella and Brad Cohan's "Highly Selective Listings" in the March Issue of the Brooklyn Rail.
"the long, horny history of downtown piers ended sadly, like most stories in this city, in wreckage and real estate." Wilson Sherwin's gripping exploration of the value of loose spaces in this month's critics page begins with sex on the old Chelsea Piers and ends with the gilets jaunes playing boules on a highway
https://brooklynrail.org/2019/02/criticspage/Loose-Spaces
One balmy spring night around the turn of the last millennium I had my first orgasm pressed tightly against the lanky object of my teenage lust on a pier jutting out from downtown Manhattan into the Hudson River.
Tune in to our February mix of songs by artists playing around NYC this month, pulled from our Music section editor's shows-to-see.
#NowPlaying
a selection of tunes from from some of the envelope-pushing acts playing around NYC this month, pulled from George Grella and Brad Cohan's Highly Selective Listings
Journalist David Schmidt took a deep look at the "migrant crisis" as it is felt in Mexico, where many of the asylum-seekers end their journeys, both by choice and not. "The spectre of xenophobia, long crouching behind the northern border, appeared to have finally extended its claws southward." Read on in February Field Notes.
https://brooklynrail.org/2019/02/field-notes/In-Search-of-the-Promised-Land-Hope-and-Despair-in-the-Migrant-Caravan
I found the migrant shelter at the end of a side street, in the shadow of the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
A big thank you to our Guest Critic/moderator Daniel S. Palmer and panelists Lisa Cooley, Wilson Sherwin, John Newman, and Siyona Ravi for a great discussion last Friday. You can listen to the whole talk on our YouTube page in case you missed it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCEot0-1kn0
"This city has been at the fore of the global art world since the middle of the last century, but is it in danger of losing this mantle if artists can’t affo...
Our February 2019 issue is LIVE, featuring interviews with Julie Mehretu, Ian Cheng, Kevin Beasley, and Charles Stein. Paper issues hitting stands across the city this week, check it out online in the meantime!
https://brooklynrail.org/
Critical Perspectives on Arts, Politics, and Culture
in case you missed Artists Extending Their Reach last week, you can watch some highlights from all of our amazing panelists.
Join us tomorrow at Dia Chelsea to hear real, live poets reading real-live poems
Join Dia for Readings in Contemporary Poetry with Deborah Garrison and Gary Lenhart on Tuesday, December 4. Free Dia Members.
Advance tickets recommended:
https://www.diaart.org/program/calendar/deborah-garrison-and-gary-lenhart-poetry-reading-2018-12-04
Special thanks Lévy Gorvy for major series support, The Brooklyn Brewery for complimentary beverages & The Brooklyn Rail for media sponsorship
‘‘crime just left slowthai with an angry, fatalistic sense that this was his inevitable destiny...There’s a sense that, as he says on ‘Drug Dealer,’ ‘nothing great about Britain.’’’ Steve Erickson digs into British rapper slowthai’s budding discography in this month’s music section
https://brooklynrail.org/2018/11/music/slowthai-and-the-Path-Out
When he attacks other rappers who write lyrics about drug dealing for their lack of imagination, he sounds bitter enough that I suspect there’s a degree of self-criticism involved.
This Monday afternoon join the Brooklyn Rail for a Field Notes event. Writer and scholar Pavlos Ruofos is giving a talk on his recent book A Happy Future is a Thing of the Past: the Greek Financial Crisis and Other Disasters, part of the Field Notes series published by Reaktion Books
https://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/acalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=12123&information_id=32848&type=&syndicate=syndicate
Economic Justice Speaker Series Book Discussion: A Happy Future is a Thing of the Past: The Greek Crisis and Other Disasters November 12, 2018 1:40 PM-3:00 PM 524 West 59th Street Room L2.76 Pavlos Roufos Film Editor, Researcher University of Kassel, Germany Pavlos Roufos has been active in Greeces....
Akiko Yano + Seiho, Unusual Pairings, play tonight at 7 pm at the Japan Society. Don't miss the rest of George and Brad's November Listings, up in the Music section on our website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSXM1t1FpzQ
矢野顕子 ニューアルバム「Welcome to Jupiter」 2015年9月16日(水)発売 初回限定盤：18曲収録/2枚組/￥3,700(＋税)/ VIZL-873 通常盤 ：11曲収録/1枚組/￥3,000(＋税)/ VICL-64413 http://yanojupiter.com/ 01. Tong ...
“Lazzaro is a gentle film about harsh things... less concerned with the stars or hidden morals and more with a straightforward and present day connection between humanity and the ground we walk on.” our film section co-editor Gina Telaroli brings the Cannes Best Screenplay winner Happy as Lazzaro to life in words this month 🎥
https://brooklynrail.org/2018/11/film/But-Not-For-Always-Alice-Rohrwachers-Happy-as-Lazzaro
Alice Rohrwacher's third feature film opens at night, in a mess of muddy, 16mm darkness.
A Tribute to Paul Virilio is LIVE NOW, tune in on our YouTube channel!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4HyNK45pIY
The Brooklyn Rail is proud to host a panel discussion and film screening in honor of Paul Virilio's (1932-2018) life and the influence his work has had on a ...
in honor of #earthscienceweek Peter St. Clair gives a close reading report on Steffen et al.'s landmark report that we are en route to a runaway Hothouse Earth.
https://brooklynrail.org/2018/10/field-notes/Crossing-the-River-Styx-The-Endgame
“there is something radical in seeing black people exist in such casual proximity to art—art which we have been narratively given to understand is valuable. This itself is its own form of queerness.” Amber Jamilla Musser applies queer analytics to Toyin Ojih Odutola's tender, intimate, and challenging final chapter of Lords Omodele and Emeka epic family visual history
https://brooklynrail.org/2018/10/artseen/Toyin-Ojih-Odutola-When-Legends-Die
This is not an exhibit that insists on presenting wealth as loud and spectacular. Rather, wealth is what permits contemplation.
our music editor couldn't make it through the gangs of art students to see Montreal's Paupière perform at Con Artist Collective for their record release show, but has been grooving to their "neo-romantic synth-pop" all month 💃 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3k_LuBRVpU
Abonne-toi à la CHAINE OFFICIELLE VEVO de PAUPIERE pour découvrir toutes leurs nouvelles vidéos : http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=PAUPIER...
in this month's Rail Tracks Music Editor George Grella talks about upcoming releases and improv in the recording studio with musicians from Harriet Tubman and Dave Cromwell & Simon Jermyn, both groups' albums are being released by local NYC labels Sunnyside and Skirl, give it a listen!
On the October podcast, I talk with two groups of musicians about their new and upcoming releases; first it's Dave Crowell and Simon Jermyn with their "rhythmic ambient" Spirit Spout, on Skirl, and th
Thank you for the love, the Met! Take advantage of a rainy afternoon and dig in to Delacroix's oeuvre
“At this moment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art contains enough work by Eugène Delacroix to keep you busy for several lifetimes.” - The Brooklyn Rail
Delve into Delacroix’s work in our two current exhibitions: "Delacroix" and "Devotion to Drawing: the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix."
If you're uptown tomorrow night, celebrate the release of Ellen Berkenblit's monograph 'Lines' at Anton Kern Gallery at 6 pm!
And catch up with Ellen's conversation with our own Alex A. Jones from this month's issue
https://brooklynrail.org/2018/09/art/INCONVERSATION-ELLEN-BERKENBLIT-with-Alex-A-Jones
some sunday listening, former WNYC personality, composer, and multi-instrumentalist David Garland sits with our music editor George Grella to talk about his new album Verdancy, homemade instruments, the constancy of change, and so much more (spoiler: David has a great radio voice) interview here: https://soundcloud.com/rail-tracks/brooklynrail_091018
Diana Thater speaks about politics as a "texture" in her work rather than as explicit content over her Delphine (1999) 🐬🌊
You can read the rest of her interview with Steve Pestana here: https://brooklynrail.org/2018/09/art/DIANA-THATER-with-Steven-Pestana
multiplicity in Luciano Fabro's practice resisted clear labels and made him an art world outsider during his lifetime, and still haunts his legacy. Sharon Hecker's critics page includes a translation of an excellent conversation on the pros and cons of being hard to pin down which you can read below
https://brooklynrail.org/2018/09/criticspage/Luciano-Fabro-with-Martin-Schwander
In contemporary art, the dominant tendency is that the artist gives a clear and firm idea of his work.
somewhere between a Ghibli and a David Lynch film-feel, Kelly Moran's experimental pop classical solo piano is full of armchair ascensions and hairpin turns, and screws in the piano's wires??? calming and wild all at once.
From Brad Cohen's Highly Selective Listings for this month: https://brooklynrail.org/2018/09/music/Highly-Selective-Listings-September2018
limonium by Kelly Moran, from the album "bloodroot" on Telegraph Harp Records; directed by Anna Stypko Kelly Moran - prepared piano, composition Anna Stypko ...
in case you're in the mood to get in the mood for some experimental feminist Western film, program coordinator Hannah Greenberg gives our Film section co-editor Gina Telaroli the lowdown on why Westerns are still relevant, plus a teaser of some gripping moments including one that involves a lit cigarette and a face 😮
The series starts today and goes through the week at Anthology Film Archives, check the screening times here: http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/49684
Starting August 31, Anthology Film Archives will be taking on an uniquely specific slant on the recent push by many of New York’s repertory theaters to showcase more films by and about women.
253 36th St, Fl Third, Ste C304
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“So far as the art scene is concerned, it is the murmur of the city in print.” - Robert Storr
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The Rail is getting a makeover this Spring! Over the last 9 months we've been working hard on big changes to our site, starting with our article pages. We're redesigning brooklynrail.org to be easier to read, easier to navigate, less cluttered, more mobile-friendly, and more accessible. A big part of our mission as a free publication is to provide easy access to our content and while the print edition is still central to who we are, it's long past due for our site to live up to that mission. The new article pages feature a simplified design with an emphasis on legibility and include a scrolling index of the whole issue in the sidebar so that you can browse for your next read without leaving the article you just finished. They also meet accessibility standards for readers with visual impairments. Why change just the article page? We wanted to find the fastest way to make a significant impact on the experience the RAIL for the widest number of readers.
in case you missed Artists Extending Their Reach last week, you can watch some highlights from all of our amazing panelists.
Diana Thater speaks about politics as a "texture" in her work rather than as explicit content over her Delphine (1999) 🐬🌊 You can read the rest of her interview with Steve Pestana here: https://brooklynrail.org/2018/09/art/DIANA-THATER-with-Steven-Pestana
our September issue is very live and features amazing interviews some genre-breaking, innovative ladies
help us keep on keeping on, consider donating today!
