Only In New York

It's not Halloween, and it's not the Gay Pride Parade. Just an ordinary late November evening on Fifth Avenue. Just a dollar for a click. Not every photo op is free.

Holiday Under the Stars 2009: Visual-Sound Display at Time Warner Center

Throughout the holiday season, Time Warner Center presents a mesmerizing multi-media display every evening starting at 5 PM. At the Great Room of Time Warner Center, a dozen 14-foot stars hanging from the ceiling make an enchanting choreographed light show set to holiday music. Each star twinkles to holiday tunes, capable of creating a myriad of color combinations. The show is made up of over 8,500 LEDs, 11,000 fiber optics and 156 strobe lights. The display is also visible from the street.

The Time Warner Center is a mixed-use skyscraper surrounding half of Columbus Circle. The complex is home to upscale retail shops, restaurants, grocery store, as well as CNN studios.
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Italian Gilt and Patinated Bronze and Verde Antico Marble Jardinieres

Part of the "500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe" Auction at Christie's last week was a pair of Italian Gilt and Patinated Bronze and Verde Antico Marble Jardinieres (second half of 19th century).

Thanksgiving Night of CNN Heroes (2009)

Efren Penaflorida, the "pushcart educator" from the Philippines, CNN Hero of 2009

(Home television screen image taken during the telecast)

This Thanksgiving night, CNN aired a gala event honoring the top ten CNN Heroes of 2009, everyday people that make a difference. Hosted by Anderson Cooper, the all-star tribute was held last Saturday night at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Efren Peñaflorida, who started an outdoor "pushcart classroom" in the Philippines to bring education to poor children, has been named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. He emerged as the winner after seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com. He received $100,000 to continue his work with the Dynamic Teen Company, a foundation that he started at the age of 16.

"Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry," Peñaflorida said upon accepting the honor. "Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need. So to each and every person inside this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell to my co-volunteers ... you are the change that you dream, as I am the change that I dream, and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."

ADAM LAMBERT Performs On "The Early Show" on CBS in New York City After ABC Canceled Performance On "Good Morning America"

After ABC canceled ADAM LAMBERT's scheduled live performance on Good Morning America, CBS played host to the American Idol runner-up earlier this morning at "The Early Show". The cancellation was due to Mr. Lambert's controversial and "sexually charged" performance at the recent American Music Awards.

This morning, I captured these images of Mr. Lambert's indoor performance through the glass wall of The General Motors Building, as well as the autograph signing for his loyal fans outside the CBS studio. During the interview with the Early Show host, Mr. Lambert explained his side of the much talked about AMA performance. In response to the complaints of parents who watched the AMA performance, Mr. Lambert commented that he is an entertainer, and not a "baby-sitter."

Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor from San Diego, California. In May 2009, he finished as the runner-up on the 8^th season of American Idol. The handsome and talented artist released his solo debut album, For Your Entertainment, on November 23, 2009. Mr. Lambert has previously played the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. Lambert was one of the only actors in the play that garnered a positive review. He has also appeared in the musical Wicked as Fiyero in Los Angeles.

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Broadway Marquee: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury

The Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 West 48th Street and the marquee for the first-ever revival of "A Little Night Music" which begins preview performance tonight.

From Playbill.com:

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury head the cast of the new Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music— the waltz-filled rumination on love — starting Nov. 24.

Trevor Nunn directs the first-ever Broadway revival of the acclaimed 1973 musical, suggested by the Ingmar Bergman film "Smiles of a Summer Night." Inspired by Nunn's recent London production, the Broadway transfer officially opens Dec. 13.

Zeta-Jones is making her Broadway debut in the role of Swedish actress Desirée Armfeldt opposite Lansbury as her wise mother Madame Armfeldt.

Olivier Award nominee Alexander Hanson, who played the role of Fredrik Egerman in the Nunn-directed production of Night Music at London's Menier Chocolate Factory and in the West End, re-creates his work for New York audiences.

The cast features Aaron Lazar (Les Misérables) as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, Erin Davie (Grey Gardens) as Countess Charlotte Malcolm, Leigh Ann Larkin (Gypsy) as Petra, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka as Henrik Egerman and Ramona Mallory (The Fantasticks) as Anne Egerman, with Stephen R. Buntrock, Bradley Dean, Katherine Leigh Doherty, Marissa McGowan, Betsy Morgan, Jayne Paterson, Kevin David Thomas, Keaton Whittaker, Karen Murphy, Erin Stewart and Kevin Vortmann.

A Little Night Music, according to press notes, "is set in a weekend country house in turn of the century Sweden, bringing together surprising liaisons, long simmering passions and a taste of love's endless possibilities. Hailed as witty and wildly romantic, the story centers on the elegant actress Desirée Armfeldt and the spider's web of sensuality, intrigue and desire that surrounds her."

The creative team includes Lynne Page (choreography), Caroline Humphris (musical supervision), David Farley (set and costume design), Hartley T A Kemp (lighting design), Dan Moses Shreier and Gareth Owen (sound design), Paul Huntley (wig design), Jason Carr (orchestrations) and Tom Murray (musical direction).

A Little Night Music — featuring a score by Sondheim and a book by Wheeler — originally opened at Broadway's Shubert Theatre on Feb. 25, 1973, with a cast that included Glynis Johns as Desiree, Len Cariou as Fredrik and Hermione Gingold as Madame Armfeldt. The show, directed by Harold Prince, garnered five 1973 Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. The Sondheim score features the composer's best-known tune, "Send in the Clowns," as well as "Every Day a Little Death," "The Miller's Son" and "A Weekend in the Country."

Nunn's production debuted to critical acclaim at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in November 2008 and subsequently transferred to the West End where it played a limited engagement through July 25, 2009, at the Garrick Theatre.

The Night Music revival is produced on Broadway by Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, the Menier Chocolate Factory, Roger Berlind, David Babani, Andrew Fell and Sonia Friedman Productions.

Zeta-Jones won an Academy Award for her performance in "Chicago" and has appeared in "Traffic," "High Fidelity" "The Mask of Zorro" and "Entrapment." Lansbury won Tony Awards for her work in Blithe Spirit, Mame, Dear World, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. She was also nominated for Deuce.

Carpets from the Corcoran Gallery of Art

A Kurdish Gallery Carpet, Northwest Persia, Late 18th Century

These are some of the carpets on preview at Christie's Rockefeller Center. These items will be part of the auction for "500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe Including Carpets from the Corcoran Gallery of Art" to be held on November 24. Kurdish carpets of the 18th century are known for their wonderful colors, and the one I photographed above is no exception. Among those used are deep emerald green, aubergine, mustard yellow, bright blue, and creamy ivory.

Louis Vuitton Flagship Store on Fifth Avenue - November CITY GUIDE motif

To promote its new collection of city guides, the exterior of Louis Vuitton's flagship store on Fifth Avenue features a new decor. The design is inspired by vintage luggage labels of the kind hotel bellboys would affix to travellers' trunks. Its window display has a matching travel theme.

From ilvoelv.com

New Destinations

Louis Vuitton has developed its collection of guides and for the first time – presents five individual volumes devoted to five cities of the world: Mumbai, Miami, New York, Paris, and Tokyo. A vibrant celebration of city life, the Louis Vuitton City Guide tirelessly seeks out new cities to explore, and regularly renews its acquaintance with others, scrupulously updating its information and addresses with every edition. In 2009, the City Guide visits 32 European cities, including six new destinations: Bucharest, Glasgow, Lausanne, Manchester, Palermo and Saint-Tropez.

New Perspectives

One of the delights of the Louis Vuitton City Guide has always been the very personal tone with which it evokes its chosen destinations. The 10th edition goes further and invites 30 famous figures to offer their perspective on a city they know and love. The actress Monica Belluci discloses her addresses in Rome. The sommelier Georges dos Santos reveals a few secrets of Lyonnais gastronomy. The opera singer Angela Gheorghiu recounts her trips back and forth to Bucharest. The decorator Simon Doonan tells of his fascination for New York department store window displays… Each one has agreed to reveal a few of their top addresses in this new section.

New Features

Two hours between business meetings? A leisurely long weekend? The new, more user-friendly Louis Vuitton City Guide provides for the first time schematic city maps to help travellers find their bearings and identify the address of their choice more easily.

New Design

The redesigned City Guide boxes reference the heritage of Louis Vuitton, drawing inspiration from a vintage luggage label of the kind hotel bellboys would affix to travellers' trunks. While deep brown makes an appearance, adding its distinct character to the collection, the guide still features the bright colours that have become its trademark over the past ten years. Pistachio Green for the European cities, Royal Blue for Paris, Rosewood for Tokyo, Magenta for Mumbai, Buttercup for New York and Almond Green for Miami.

@ the stagedoor: JOHN STAMOS, star of the Broadway Revival of BYE BYE BIRDIE

JOHN STAMOS, star of the Broadway revival of BYE BYE BIRDIE, at the stagedoor of the Henry Miller's Theatre, November 20, 2009. Inspired by the real-life drafting of Elvis Presley into the Army, Bye Bye Birdie pokes gentle fun at '50's cultural trends: publicity stunts, teenage sexuality, pop stars and conformity.

John Stamos is an American actor best known for his work in television, especially as Uncle Jesse on the ABC sitcom Full House. Since the cancellation of that show in 1995, Stamos has appeared in numerous television films and series. From 2006 to 2009, Stamos had a starring role on the NBC medical drama ER. He has also appeared on Broadway as the Emcee in Cabaret, and also in Nine and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

Bauhaus 1919–1933: Workshops for Modernity at the Museum of Modern Art

Entrance to the exhibit hall with a painting by JOHANNES ITTEN

A special exhibition about BAUHAUS opened last week at the Museum of Modern Art. Bauhaus ("House of Building") was a famous and influential avant-garde art school in Germany that operated from 1919-1933. I made these images when I viewed the exhibit which runs through January 25.

From the MOMA website:

This survey is MoMA’s first major exhibition since 1938 on the subject of this famous and influential school of avant-garde art. Founded in 1919 and shut down by the Nazis in 1933, the Bauhaus brought together artists, architects, and designers in an extraordinary conversation about the nature of art in the age of technology. Aiming to rethink the very form of modern life, the Bauhaus became the site of a dazzling array of experiments in the visual arts that have profoundly shaped our visual world today. 

The exhibition gathers over four hundred works that reflect the broad range of the school’s productions, including industrial design, furniture, architecture, graphics, photography, textiles, ceramics, theater design, painting, and sculpture, many of which have never before been exhibited in the United States. It includes not only works by the school’s famous faculty and best-known students—including Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Herbert Bayer, Marianne Brandt, Marcel Breuer, Lyonel Feininger, Walter Gropius, Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, László Moholy-Nagy, Lucia Moholy, Lilly Reich, Oskar Schlemmer, and Gunta Stölzl—but also a broad range of works by innovative but less well-known students, suggesting the collective nature of ideas.

Latin American Art Auction at Christie's

Claudio Bravo (Chilean, b. 1936) White, Blue and Yellow Papers, Oil on canvas, 57 ½ x 45 in, Painted in 2004. Estimate: $400,000-$600,000

Fernando Botero (Colombian, b. 1932) Mujer Fumando, Bronze with dark brown patina 74x141 ½ x 62 ¾ inches, executed in 1987. Estimate: $800,000-$1,200,000.

Rogelio Polesello (Argentinian, b. 1939), Untitled, Acrylic, 86 1/4 x 41 1/4 inches, executed in 1968.

Estimate: $25,000-30,000

These are some of the artwork for auction today and tomorrow as part of the Latin American Art Sale at Christie's Rockefeller Center.