Gotham Gal

Emerging 2003

Last night I went to Emerging 2003 which was held at the Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea. This is the 2nd of these events that I have gone to. Emering is a beneift for ACRIA which is a non-profit organization devoted to studying new treatments for HIV-related diseases. It is a wonderful organization that appears to have solid support from the art community. Unfortunately, if this event is how they are going to continue to raise awareness and money, I will not be attending.

The concept of this event is that you can see work from supposed emerging artists that have created small works for this particular event. You can then purchase these pieces for $300, and the proceeds go to ACRIA. I went to the first event this summer. It was great fun. The art work was extensive. Each artist showed 3 pieces of their work. You got a sheet when entering the event telling about each artist and their work. There were people milling around with red dots. So, if you wanted to make a purchase, they'd red dot it for you, give you a number and you'd go make the purchase. The event started at 6pm and everything was sold by 6:30. Definitely an event not to be late for. I had purchased a very cool piece from a young artist Otino Corsano out of Toronto. He sent me a letter thanking me and later through email we've corresponded about his latest work, etc. Great experience.

Last night, was an awful experience. I got there around 5:45, since last time it was apparent that you should be there on time. There was already a line. We were all given ticket stubs in line. Finally, around 6:10, they let us in. The artists that were shown this time were far from emerging. Most of them had already been picked up by pretty impressive galleries. This time, it cost $20 just to enter the event. Last time, it was free. So be it. I went up there and took a look. Immediately this line formed to start purchasing. I made my husband stand in line while I checked out the work because the line was getting really long. You could not red dot the art work that you were interested in, you had to stand in line to buy it with the possibility of the artist having already sold. I finally made my way to the front of the line. I handed the woman my form. She reached behind her where there were boxes on the floor with each artists name on them. She pulled out the first piece of art that was on the top. This is the piece you get. I was incredulous. Basically, for $300 (plus the $20 to enter), you get to choose the artist of your liking and then they randomly pull a piece from the artist's box to give to you. What's up with that? Since when did collecting or having an appreciation for art come randomly out of a box.

$300 is a nice chunk of cash. You could buy a cashmere sweater, have an incredible dinner in NYC, you could pay part of your electric bill or phone bill, buy 25 new cd's (based on the price), you could even buy an ipod. So, i basically said, thanks but no thanks. I would have rather gone to your standard fundraising event for the price, talked to some people, had a few drinks, some appetizers and a bad chicken diner and have gone home. Next time, I'll opt for that.

foodies

I just added NYCEATS to my links. This is a great blog. Up to date information on food happenings in nyc, on line tidbits or other articles of interest related to food. There is also information to be had on other cities. Definitely work checking out.

I still believe that email is the killer app, so I have signed up for an email from NYMetro. They send out a newletter weekly which basically gives you the information on up and coming restuaurants, closings, chef moves, etc. You can read about most of this the following week in New York Magazine but through email, you get the info early.

I have also been into the food scene this week. My oldest daughter is in the middle school play. The 3 days before the opening, they stay until 7:30/8pm each night to make sure all is perfect. I volunteered to cater these 3 nights - dinner and dessert. I can't stand that they would eat pizza and subway instead. I truly have a new found respect for the catering business. You gotta love food or in my case, you gotta love your kid.

Halloween in NYC

Greenwich Village is a halloween lover's paradise. Since I am a halloween lover, last night was truly top. I have 3 kids - of all different ages. I started with my youngest at 3:30, right after school. We went with an entourage of people through Bleeker Street. The stores love it! My son decided (with the help of his aunt) to be Joey Ramone. He's very into the Ramone's so the costume was perfect. The older kids walking through the streets definitely knew who he was and needless to say, he loved it! We finished Bleeker and roamed up 7th avenue and then cut across on 10th street over to 5th Avenue. We were with friends of ours, and decided it was time to empty the bag and start anew.

The blocks of 10, 11 and 12th between 5 and 6th are completely closed off to cars due to the parade. Perfect for trick or treating. Also, the block associations give you a list of houses and apartment buildings definitely interesting in trick or treaters. There is one building on West 11th that is so into it that the doormen have made every floor look like a haunted house with dead people and skeletons lying in random hallways. It's great.

Thank god for cell phones because we were able to hook up with my other 2 daughters and their pals. My middle daughter went as a devil with her friend. They were both devils. My oldest went with her pal dressed up as an early Britney Spears. Very school girl cute. Something you could only wear at 12 years old. Friends ended up coming in from Westchester to see the parade. They took a ladder down to 6th avenue and watched the parade from up top. Then, we basically ended up at our stoop with a variety of kids and friends and mega candy at the end of the night.

We all hung out on the stoop, had some wine, some drinks, listened to music and gave away candy to the parade goers as they reentered the village. The people passing us were so psyched that we were giving out candy. After all, what is Halloween with out a little candy? It was a blast watching the costumes stroll by.

When the stragglers finally finished, we got down to some serious candy sorting and trading. After all, this is definitely one of the best parts of the night. We have combined all the candy and have enough to last at least until next Halloween.

BOO!