Museum of the Moving Image Reopens

After three years of renovations, the Museum of the Moving Image reopened this weekend at its gorgeously refreshed facility next to New York City’s famed Kaufman Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens. The opening kicked off a variety of ongoing special events, including screenings of restored classics such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, newly acclaimed films such as The King’s Speech (including a talkback with its cast and creators), and the new exhibitions “Behind the Screen,” “Real Virtuality,” and “Dolls vs. Dictators.”

Movie lovers will find more than enough here to make the short trek from Manhattan well worth it.

Visit www.movingimage.us for hours and more info.

Jon Anderson and...Kanye West?

Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”

Kanye West’s recent and much buzzed-about album, “My Beautiful Dark Fantasy”, has ranked on several year-end “best of” lists, and we were pleasantly surprised to hear the unmistakable voice of featured stated musician and legendary voice of Yes, Jon Anderson, in the the “could we get much higher?” refrain of “Dark Fantasy.” It certainly isn’t the first place you’d expect to hear a sample from the relatively obscure 1983 collaboration, “In High Places,” (with Mike Oldfield of “Tubular Bells” fame), but West raided the vaults on his latest outing, with samples from Steely Dan, Tears for Fears, Daft Punk, and even Anderson’s contemporaries, King Crimson. Everything old is new again…?

Anderson will be featured in a conversation with Jimmy Gnecco of Ours in stated’s inaugural issue, coming soon.

Steve Martin's "An Object of Beauty"

Image via theartnewspaper.com

Yes, that Steve Martin. Comedian, actor, banjo player, playwright, author, and art aficionado. A longtime collector, the man clearly knows his subject matter.

In his third novel (and my favorite Christmas gift this year), An Object of Beauty, Martin gives us a glimpse into the New York art world of the last twenty years. We view this tumultuous time through the eyes of Lacey, an opportunistic yet beguiling art dealer in-training. Our narrator is Daniel, Lacey’s college friend and art journalist, who tells us in the first few pages that the story will be told from his own “recollections, from conversations I conducted with those around her, and alas, from gossip…,” and admits to filling in the blanks with his own imagination. We get to know Lacey much as we would a work of art—from a distance and left to form our own conclusions.

Through Lacey, Martin cleverly wrestles with the question of value—both aesthetic and commercial—and manages to keep us entertained and enchanted with Lacey and her world without ever passing judgement.

This was truly a fast and engrossing read, appealing to art lovers and the uninitiated alike. Definitely recommended. The LA Times recently published an interview with Martin that provides some nice insight.

"It Is Stated." Tagging Up the Squarespace Holiday Party.

It is stated.

Last night, our editors attended the Squarespace holiday party at their gorgeous loft space in Soho. stated is built on the Squarespace platform, and it was a nice opportunity to mingle with a great crowd of fellow new media junkies and creative types. We also chatted with Squarespace Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena, who treated the crowd to a DJ, big screen gaming, open bar, and all the candy and burgers they could eat. We’ll be featuring Anthony in an upcoming interview.

The Squarespace restrooms and waiting area are equipped with wall-to-wall chalkboards and chalk, so we took advantage of the opportunity to advertise.

Were you there?

The Market NYC - Unique Designs in Lower Manhattan

If you happen to stroll down Mulberry Street on a weekend afternoon, you may stumble across a gymnasium filled with the handiwork of local indie artists and designers. The Young Designers Market offers crafts from graphic tees to handmade jewelry, all delivered with a downtown edge.  The Nolita hotspot is open to the public every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-7pm and located at 268 Mulberry Street. For more info, visit www.themarketnyc.com.