The cicadas have said just about all they have to say. Evenings are longer; they start earlier and linger. At five o’clock, just a month ago the hottest hour of the blazing afternoon, light switches flip and turn all over the city, beneath a perfect Roger Brown sky.
No one understood end of summer in our most urban latitudes better than Roger Brown. Scarcely known outside the Midwest, until September 15, New Yorkers have a rare opportunity to enjoy the work of this extraordinary artist at the Museum of Arts and Design; pedal over there as quickly as you can.
But not too quickly, if you know what I mean, or you will miss out on the pleasing crunch of the dry leaves on the pathways of Central Park beneath your wheels, signaling that the surrounding green has reached its ultimate fullness, and will soon be turning to red.
According to some theories about the psychology of color, green is believed to have healing properties, which makes it ideal for hospital walls; according to others, it’s the color of envy, surely the cause of more hospital stays than any other emotion, so there’s that.
Red, on the other hand, is alternatively the color of sinful carnality, luck, joy, vitality and fertility. To some, it’s the Scarlet Letter; in China, red is traditionally worn by brides to ward off evil. In choosing our perspective in this matter, one cannot say we do not have the widest possible range of options.
To find out more, veer toward the Cooper-Hewitt Museum’s exhibition Nature of Color, Color of Nature for either greater enlightenment or confusion, as you prefer. The choice is yours.
Architecture has been famously called frozen music; on Thursday nights throughout September, both the frozen and liquid versions can be experienced simultaneously when Jazz at Lincoln Center brings New York City’s hottest young jazz bands to Times Square.
Hard by the Crossroad of the World, cosmopolitanism finds expression in another medium, at the 2019 Hudson Yards/Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival in Bella Abzug Park, which starts on September 16th. Local, international, and independent filmmakers explore home and diaspora, celebrating cosmopolitanism and the triumph of diversity in divisive times. Beginning each night at 7 pm, a short film will be followed by a feature-length.
Alternatively, if it’s bicycling inspiration you need, there’s still time to see Cycling in the City, a 200-Year History at the Museum of the City of New York, on view until October 14.
Incredibly, we cannot live by bicycling alone. Bringing together mind and body all day Saturday you can enjoy World Health Qiqong Day in Columbus Park, sponsored by the Chinatown Partnerhsip/Chinatown BID.
And where better to enjoy a refreshing bike ride than Staten Island, New York City’s greenest borough?
Be sure to mark your calendars for the Alice Austen House Opening Gala and fundraiser for “Deliberate Acts”, on October 5. Featuring photography by Staten Island residents and others, this juried exhibition explores contemporary themes of life on Staten Island using traditional, and innovative techniques.