Attention quilters, and friends of quilters. You don't have much time left, but you must see Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts at the Park Avenue Armory. The installation is heady. The 650 red and white quilts are double-hung and dazzling. The show is free, and is presented by the American Folk Art Museum. Yes, this is what I would call a happening. Friday, March 25 – Wednesday, March 30, 2011.

Remaining Times:
Monday, March 28, 11 am–7 pm
Tuesday, March 29, 11 am–7 pm
Wednesday, March 30, 11 am–5 pm

I couldn't believe my inbox or my luck yesterday morning. I had an e-mail that said, "Happy Birthday from Eduardo Sarabia." (!!) The I-20 Gallery on W23rd Street in Chelsea that represents Sarabia got a Google Alert about my blog post on March 19, and invited us to the invitation-only closing of Salon Aleman.

And so we sipped some of the best tequila I have ever tasted along with a very small crowd in the Field and Staff Room of the 7th Regiment Armory. Or correction, we sipped 2008 Whitney Biennial tequila. I still can't believe it. I had a very nice talk with the artist, which was the high point of the evening for me. Here are just a few pictures from the event.

Large paintings, moose heads and chandeliers loomed overhead in the dimly lit
Field and Staff Room at the 7th Regiment Armory.

Tequila Sarabia, a glimpse of the special brews. Three varieties to be exact.

The elephant leg stools were quite comfortable indeed.
This one was claimed in earnest by a woman who threw
her belongings on it from across the room. 9:10pm

The crowd at around 8:30 before it grew to around 100 at the apex of the evening.

Eduardo Sarabia, Salon Aleman [detail], installed as part of the 2008 Whitney Biennial
in the Field and Staff Room at the 7th Regiment Armory.
The blue neon reads 'Tequila Sarabia'

Eduardo Sarabia, Salon Aleman [detail]
The red neon reads 'Salon Aleman'

Sure, it looks empty and peaceful now, but what will Salon Aleman by Eduardo Sarabia be like at 10pm tonight? The artist has constructed a working bar open only on March 9, 11, 14 and 19 from 10pm to 1am where "he will serve homemade tequila and other beverages as he celebrates collaborative dialogue and community." I thought, what better way to celebrate my birthday today than to participate in art? But perhaps my plans are being foiled? Why is the 19th no longer listed? Perhaps Sarabia had his fill of dialogue and community on the 14th. I must get to the bottom of this.


About the artist:

Sarabia invents scenarios that he participates in and creates documentation for, commemorating the event’s unfolding. Handcrafted ceramic objects, drawings, paintings, photographs, and sculptures transform the exhibition space into a site for storytelling where viewers must suspend disbelief to enter the artist’s fantastic, romanticized realm. These theatrical situations revolve around Sarabia’s Latino heritage, which he both honors and mocks through his investigation of Mexican cultural clichés about drug smuggling, banditry, and the import/export of tawdry contraband. ~Whitney Biennial notes

***
Update, 5:47 pm
Sadly there will be no Salon Aleman this evening. Representatives from both the Whitney and the Armory called me back to let me know that due to the unprecedented attendance on the 14th, the supply of Sarabia's homemade tequila was basically depleted. Ah well.

Friday's performance by The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black
at the 7th Regiment Armory was to include an onstage wedding ceremony.
Here was the cake, topped with wig.

I never thought of it before, but I guess the 7th Regiment Armory is an ideal venue for an all-out rock show. It certainly is spacious enough. If I had realized The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, a special event scheduled for last Friday at 8pm as part of the 2008 Whitney Biennial, was going to be an all-out rock show that ran 2+ hours late, I might have skipped it. It seemed like a good idea. And then it didn't. My friend seconds this sentiment.

Hipsters everywhere at the 7th Regiment Armory.

The cavernous expanse of the 7th Regiment Armory is quite breathtaking.
It is amazing that such a quiet and peaceful expanse exists on Park Avenue and 67th.
If you walk the entire length to the other end (Lexington Avenue), you will
be rewarded in more ways than one:
Mungo Thomson's Silent Film of a Tree Falling in the Forest,
2005-06, 16mm film, color, silent; 7 min
is playing in a little room.


There are quite a few time-specific events to go along with this site specific extension
of the Whitney Biennial which runs from March 6-23.
Admission is free.
Be sure to visit the Whitney Biennial Website and start planning
what you want to see.


My dad said that he used to watch the tennis matches here, around 40 years ago.
I would imagine that if you tried to play tennis here today,
you'd get a lot of bad bounces.

Read more about the Armory's Drill Hall here.
The Armory's notes say that it "is now the oldest extant 'balloon shed'
(a barrel vaulted roof supported on visible arch trusses) in America
and is considered one of the first non-railroad buildings
to employ this type of structural system."


In one of the darkened rooms (they were all dark and moody really),
an unexpected surprise:
Olaf Breuning, The Army, 2008, mixed media.
Company Room M.

The Whitney Biennial notes read: "Identical Chines teapot bodies
and different heads represent a dysfunctional army."


Olaf Breuning, The Army [detail]
This installation reminds me of the excavated Chinese army shown here.
Instead of terra cotta, the soldiers are composed of teapots which sit on top of
Chinese embroidered slippers. Quite whimsical indeed.
One of my favorite 'soldiers' sports a light-up Chinese Scholars Rock for a head.


The various types of lighting in the rooms are amazing in themselves, and worth
the price of admission, which by the way is FREE.
Have you ever come across a hanging candelabra-style chandelier such as this?


Or a chandelier made expressly for a column? I love this shape.


Or a chandelier like this one?
There are more than 6 of these unique chandeliers in the main hall.
The exposed filament bulbs give off a dim orange light
which does not come across in the photo.
You must see them in person.
Originally the fixtures were gas-powered, adapted for electrical current in 1897.


Ellen Harvey, 100 Biennial Visitors Immortalized, 2008.
Sunday, March 9, 2008, to be exact.
I could have been #27, but I didn't want to wait in line...
I probably should have waited in line.


Bozidar Brazda, Our Hour: Radioff [detail], 2008, Mixed-media installation.
I like the striking juxtaposition of this piece...


...installed in this room.

Company Room Ioriginally designed in the Renaissance Revival style in 1880
but "modernized a few years later in the Art Nouveau style.
Original mahogany and rosewood lockers feature carved rosters of the company
member’s names. The room has an Art Nouveau balcony of entwined wrought iron
vines and leaves with a newel torchiere." ~from the Armory notes


Armor at the Armory.


DJ Olive (Gregor Asch), Triage [detail], 2008, Mixed-media installation.
Company Room L.

We walked up to the 3rd floor to view this white tent furnished with army cots
from a balcony. Sitting in the tent you have no idea
there are 7 moose heads just above.

Don't miss a rare opportunity to explore the fantastic architecture and restored design details of the 7th Regiment Armory on the Upper East Side as they are juxtaposed with contemporary art installations from this year's Whitney Biennial. Stay tuned: later today I will be posting my photos and observations.