This weekend Governor’s Island, that ice cream-shaped piece of land known for hosting concerts and music festivals, transforms into an artist’s playground. The island will host artistic creations of every imaginable size and medium, and encourages artists of all persuasions to bring their inventions, concepts and ideas. However, this isn’t your typical art/culture/music festival. More than just an exhibition for passive observation, Figment advocates an active public who will invent and engage with creative work. The festival does not accept corporate sponsorships and commercial interactions are discouraged. The creators of Figment want a fertile environment for independent thought, a space where one can escape from the advertisement-saturated atmosphere of New York City. Saturday and Sunday, June 8th and 9th from 10am to 6pm take a breath of unadulterated, inventive air at Figment Art Festival on Governor’s Island. Oh, and it’s 100% free!
Governor’s Island, NYC Directions and Ferry Schedule can be found here.
Velazquez: The Dark Psychology of the Spanish Baroque
Dean of Sarah Lawrence College, Jerrilyn Dodds, will be giving a lecture Tuesday June 4th on the most famous Spanish painter of the baroque, Diego Velazquez. If you want to brush up on your art history and learn about an artist who influenced Picasso, Salvador Dali and a mass of impressionist painters, here’s your chance. The lecture will take place at 92 YTribeca Lecture Hall. At $21, tickets are a bit pricey, but think of it as a mini-class— more economical than college tuition.
200 Hudson St Manhattan, NY
The 17 Olmec heads that survived the Spanish conquest of the Americas are some of the few intact remnants of the ancient Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica. These giant heads are artifacts of a culture we know very little about today. They were created from immense basalt boulders and were most likely sculpted in the likeness of various rulers. Aesthetically, they are striking pieces of human production, and only about a handful of replicas exist around the world given their intense manufacturing requirements. And Wednesday, Lehman College CUNY will receive an Olmec head replica donated by the state of Veracruz, Mexico. A ceremony celebrating Mexico’s gift to CUNY will take place at Lehman Art Gallery at 4:30pm and a reception will follow. If you would like to attend, e-mail grace.diprima@lehman.cuny.edu to RSVP. Otherwise, visit the gallery anytime to see a rare piece of Mexico’s history.
Lehman College Art Gallery 250 Bedford Park Blvd W New York, NY 10468