The Metropolitan Museum isn't exactly known as a bastion for coolness, but gosh darnit if the revered institution isn't trying to change all that—they've gone and hired a new curator to spiff up their contemporary art collection. Does this mean naked people won't get arrested in there anymore? more ›

John Waters has written a memoir. That statement alone may be enough to make those who are familiar with his work lunge towards the nearest bookstore—or to Bryant Park on Monday night, where the inimitable auteur will be having a conversation with Paul Holdengräber as part of the free "LIVE at the NYPL" series. Everything about the cult film director—who has been called the "Pope of Filth," and is responsible for such classics of their own very off-kilter genre as Hairspray, Cry Baby, and Pink Flamingos—begs the question, "how did he get this way?" more ›

The tops of 500 New York City taxis are about to become an art exhibit on wheels. Throughout January, the Las Vegas-based company that owns about half of the city's taxi-top ads will install 14- by 48-inch artworks by Shirin Neshat, Alex Katz, and Yoko Ono above cabs, the Times reports. more ›

MUSIC: The Stone has been bringing out the big names lately. Tonight Marc Ribot brings his solo act to the 8pm set, then follows himself up by delivering his experimental sounds with none other than Laurie Anderson. Avant-garde all the way. more ›

Did contemporary art and music come together for the first time in New York? The holy (or unholy -- if you're not a Velvet Underground fan) union can be traced back to, where else, Andy Warhol's Factory scene. So why is the Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 exhibit being housed all the way in Chicago? more ›

COMEDY: Check out The 7:00 Workout tonight at UCB, where God's Pottery test out some new material on you. The show is listed as being at 6:30pm, which is just confusing - so, get there early? We interviewed the Christian duo last month, where they told us they'd only leave this fine city "if the Al Gore flooding movie is correct." So catch 'em while you can! more ›

The results are in for the 2007 Design Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York Chapter. The jury, composed of notable architects and designers from around the world, reunited for a public symposium and discussion panel last night at the Center for Architecture. The judging criteria were defined as "Quality of design; resolution of the program or idea; and innovation, thoughtfulness, and technique." more ›

COMEDY: The Del Close Marathon is happening this weekend, the full schedule is here. more ›

PARTY: Disorient & Kostume Kult invite you to The Black & Light Ball; a Black-Lit Burner Formal. It's like a rave, in your dorm room...but in a gallery, with a lot more blacklighting than you could afford in college. With lighting art on display and blacklight flooding the space - we think it's okay if, just this once, you wear your sunglasses at night. Much more art, craziness and music (er, of the "techno" and "house" variety) will be a backdrop to the ball, a summer fundraiser. There will also be a blacklight sensitive fashion show by PHil's PHads and Caitlin Stolley at 10 pm. more ›

THEATER: The Debate Society's "Snow Hen" was a quirky, dreamy take on an old Scandinavian folk tale about the Black Death; now, in "The Eaten Heart," the talented trio of Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, and Oliver Butler riff on an Italian view of the plague, Boccaccio's bawdy classic Decameron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decameron as the second part of a plague trilogy. This is a workshop production, so while the group's work always seems fresh and engagingly inchoate, here you get to see it while it is that and then some (and with less expensive tickets!). - Mallory Jensen more ›

more ›

The Daily News has facts and figures from the NYPD's "war against graffiti". There's been a 93% jump in graffiti busts versus last year; might it be because police coordinators received digital cameras to document new tags? And did you know there's a computer program called "Graffitistat," much like Compstat which records major crimes? There's a quote from City Councilman Peter Vallone, the biggest graffiti hater in City Hall (this side of Mayor Bloomberg), and most of the apprehended seem to be young. One professional graffiti artist, Ki Soung, tells the Daily News, "They don't know how to get permission and they don't care. They do it overnight and they disappear. It's not right." more ›

If you're a fan of street art, tonight's discussion at McNally Robinson (50 Prince St) in Soho might be of interest. Moderated by the husband and wife team behind the Wooster Collective, the online resource for street art around the world, The City as Collaborator: Documenting Contemporary Art on the Street panel will focus on how street art has grown and contributed to the city. more ›

more ›

Jessica Lappin, City Council Candidate more ›

exhibition/walking tour. This caught our attention over at Gothamist for a number of reasons. Mainly the many ways you can go about participating in it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. more ›

Every week art is freshly hung or taken down from the walls somewhere in this city. This week Gothamist suggests you check out these openings & closings... more ›

more ›

Some of my friends at the great design agency Honest did the new New Museum of Contemporary Art site... I like it. Very new looking and white. more ›