PRESENTING: Cats. We. LOVE.

by: Zoe V. Speas, writer/resident cat enthusiast at The Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts

That’s right, we’re back and with a furry, feline vengeance.

All right, so say what you want but it's MONDAY, people, what’s more it is ColumbusDay of all days, and I ask you what better way to celebrate than with a special feline edition of What. We. LOVE. here at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts?

Hmm? Nothing? Great! And so, without further ado and since I’m pretty sure my editors assumed I was kidding when I suggested a blog post about our Foundation mascot …

Everybody, meet Tito!

Tito is the boss of us here at the Angel Orensanz Foundation and it’s best not to question him. In an interview, a question was brought up regarding the source of his infinite authority at 172 Norfolk Street, but Tito declined to comment, choosing to indulge in the ever-present can of ‘fancy feast’ that awaits him every morning in the corner of Foundation Director Al Orensanz’s office. 

As you can see from the above image, Tito has absolutely no qualms about putting his foot down and taking charge if occasion calls for it. Here, our fearless leader forced us to take a step back from the urgent projects that clearly were distracting us from the most important aspect of our jobs - paying attention to Tito when he wants it.

Which is not to be confused with when he does notwant attention. 

That’s when we all become quite certain of our places in the world, when, out of nowhere …

Titodisappears…

Sometimes for hours.

Maybe even days. We’re alone. Abandoned. Hopeless. Without direction.

This image is here to illustrate the kind of melancholic funk into which we sink during one of Tito's sabbaticals.

He’s a “love 'em and leave 'em” kind of cat. Once he vanished for a week only to return with war-wounds across his face, giving him a very distinguished looking battlescar across his little kitty nose. 

But when he comes home, our arms are open. We lay out the 'fancy feast’ every morning, just in case and patiently reattach computer keys that he has dislodged by using the keyboard as a scratching post. 

Because at the end of the day, we’re family here at the Orensanz Foundation.

And we simply wouldn’t be the same without Tito presiding over us.

Tito can be reached (when he feels like it) at 172 Norfolk Street, c/o The Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts. All submissions should be accompanied by something tasty like a can of tuna or bowl of milk. 

With a name like HONK!, how can you not want to go?

by:Zoe V. Speas, The Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts

We might be historic and hauntingly beautiful, but that doesn’t mean we can’t throw down like the rest of them.

Here at the Angel Orensanz Foundation, we’ve been known to throw a raucous party or two. The fabulous launch of Chris March’s design for Target a couple weeks ago immediately springs to mind. 

And in the spirit of promoting celebration of arts and music, I’d like to direct your attention to the following:

On the recommendation of former ‘Writers. We. LOVE.’ featured writer, Christine Mclaren, I checked out the buzz about  the upcoming HONK NYC! music festival. I’m so glad I did.

I mean, hey, if I can find a way to sneak a trip into Brooklyn and say it’s for WORK you better believe, I’m going to do it. 

So, in our interviews, Christine mentioned to me that she plays with a brass band in Vancouver called The Carnival Band (for which reason she owns a surprising number of miniature top-hats, remember?) and expressed her jealousy at not being able to attend the Honk! performance in October. 

Not being as cool as our Writer. We. LOVE., I had to do some research to familiarize myself with what exactly HONK! is.

By the way, I’m going to be using the word HONK as much as possible in this blog post because it’s fun. FYI.

Here’s a little bit about HONK!

• HONK! is part of a long tradition of street band performers who incorporate the styles of a variety of folk music backgrounds, including New Orleans, European Klezmer, and Balkan and Romani music. 

From the Honkfest.org homepage:

“'Honkers'all share a commitment to several core principles. Metaphorically speaking, they honk their horns for the same reasons motorists honk theirs: to arouse fellow travelers, to warn of danger, to celebrate milestones, and to just plain have fun.

• The music serves a dual purpose of tearing down constructed boundaries such as "performer” to “audience member”, while promoting social activism through universal inclusion.

The music is first and foremost a celebration in the style of Mardi Gras or Carnival. 

Again, how can you not want to go?! Look how happy this girl looks with her tuba.

photo credit: Geoff Adams

So, the basics.

HONK! Begins its 2013 festival in Boston, MA between the days of 10 October and 13 October. And in case you’re in Boston reading this, here’s a link to the schedule.

But, don’t dismay, New York. They’re coming HERE, too.

Festivities kick off on Tuesday, October 15th in Brooklyn with a pre-show parade at 6:30 followed by an open dance-party.

Events are hosted on each of the days following until Saturday, October 19th, which includes a “Kids’ Honk!” festival at the Childrens’ Museum of Art.

But what I’m looking forward to is Friday, October 18th. 

photo credit: Ro Mo.

Below: From the Honk!NYC website.

Friday, October 18: HONK NYC! Friday Night Gala at Gowanus Ballroom

55 9th St  New York, NY 11231
Pre-show Parade: Doors at Gowanus Ballroom: 8pm. Show: 9pm

HONK NYC!’s Friday night blowout begins with a parade around Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, and ends on the shores of the canal in the cavernous gallery spaces of Gowanus Ballroom. The party starts with sets by visiting bands Os Siderais, Environmental Encroachment and Perhaps Contraption. Three Brooklyn-based bands round out the night. Hitting at the midnight hour will be PitchBlak Brass Band, the hottest hip-hop brass outfit in town. Inspired by the Romany Gypsy music of the Balkans, Veveritse, an irresistible party band, follows. The evening concludes with Brooklyn’s own Haitain rah rah band institution, Djarara.

IT SOUNDS LIKE A BLAST. YOU SHOULD GO.

You’d better believe I’ll be there with my eyes peeled and ears ringing. I hope you all get the chance to head out, but I’ll be sure to diligently take notes to provide you with an empirical report of the goings-on, in case you can’t makeit.

But seriously, I hope you can.

Closing Up Shop and Shutting Down the Museums?

by: Zoe V. Speas

It’s finally here. The long-awaited school trip of an eighth grade class from Small Town, USA to Washington D.C. The itinerary has been set, tickets purchased, museums targeted as essential tourism destinations.

After many hours and countless dollars spent in tolls, fuel, and hotel reservations, they’ve arrived inside the city limits of our nation’s capital, which teems with experiences that will last any young student and their chaperones for a lifetime.

And then it hits - the shutdown.

Imagine the young minds and future leaders of our country as they tumble out of cramped seats on overcrowded buses. Imagine as they arrive upon the steps of the National Museum of American History or theUnited States Holocaust Museum or ANY BRANCH OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION to discover:

This Museum has been closed due to the shutdown of the Federal Government. It will reopen when the Federal Government resumes operations.

This is where it hits home. The cultivation of knowledge and historical significance effectively impeded by the inability of our leaders in Washington, D.C. to come to an agreement about the appropriations of funds?

On the United States Government homepage, with its oddly disconcerting slogan - “Government Made Easy” - a list of the effects of the government shutdown may be found for information on what exactly the shutdown means to us.

There’s a long bulleted list of the institutions whose operations have been suspended, followed by a shorter list of five vital organizations of the government that proceed uninhibited by the shutdown. See below.

This is by no means to diminish from these aspects of our government as any less significant than we hold them to be. They continue to operate because we, on an individual level, would be virtually unable to function without them. 

That being said, look at the museum webpages for our invaluable government-funded programs in Washington, D.C.

The Museum of American History.

The United States Holocaust Museum.

The National Park Service.

The American Art Museum.

All closed.

Fun activity?

Click on the museums found on the Government-sponsored museum homepage and explore the various manners - and various level of subtlety - with which each website has used to announce the suspension of their activities. 

When her home catches fire, a mother looks immediately towards her child out of an instinct to save and protect. The fire alarm goes off in our place of work or in our homes, and we reach out to grab the items we cannot live without. It’s human nature.

Yesterday, the fire that threatened us to make the toughest choices as citizens of our country closed the doors to museums, barricaded memorials, and left the trash to sit uncollected in the National Mall as a result of the first government shut-down in 17 years.

At the end of the day, we let art and history burn for the sake of the greater good. 

We’ll pick up the pieces and reopen the doors when the fire goes out. We’ll be grateful for the soldiers who continued to defend our freedom, for the prison guards and air traffic controllers who kept us safe, and to the government workers who delivered our paychecks.

But are we brave enough to look a little deeper and ask the uncomfortable questions? Can we live with the implications of our choices?

Examine what this says about our country. Our government. Our culture and our people. What does it say about you?

The NEWS is OUT.

September 2013 Newsletter, Issue #27 as seen on www.orensanz.org

TheAngel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts proudly presents its September 2013 Newsletter, Issue #27.

Packed with breathtaking graphics designed by Yuliya Novosad, the Newsletter provides a sampling of the work of Angel Orensanz, the historic building in which it is housed, and press releases for important events both at the Orensanz Foundation and throughout the United States.

The September 2013 issue also features four feature-length articles written by Foundation Director, Al Orensanz, and Foundation writer, Zoe V. Speas. Topics covered include:

• Spaces as Extensions of the Self
• Language, Mind and Memory
• What is Art? Louder Questions, and More Colorfully
• Origins: The Influence of Space and History.

Within the pages of Issue #27, the Foundation has included a special preview of Al Orensanz’s publication, 1986 to the Present: the Orensanz Years. The piece outlines the history of the Orensanz purchase of the Anshe Slonim synagogue on Norfolk Street in the mid-1980s, following the development of the space into the thriving arts foundation as it exists today.

The Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Artsinvites you to delve into the pages of our Newsletter and to accept an invitation to visit the spectacular sculpture exhibitions currently on display in the Angel Orensanz Museum, on site at 172 Norfolk Street, New York.