LAST CHANCE!: FATHER NATURE
Imagine a modern Matisse authoring a graphic novel, and you get an idea of painter Carroll Dunham’s colorful, if graphic, works on scenery and women.
“I’m just trying to be honest, to make pictures that feel kind of believable to me,” says Dunham. “Maybe this just makes me sound nuts, but to me they’re much more idealizations of something than they are graphic. I see them more in terms of my own personal classicism more than I do having any prurient level to them. See for yourself at Chelsea’s Gladstone Gallery, where his provocative solo exhibit closes tomorrow.
And speaking of nudity, how does Dunham feel about his daughter showing so much skin on TV? (Did we mention he’s the father of “Girls” creator/star Lena Dunham?) “Well, you know, it’s not my favorite thing, but it’s part of what her work has to be. I have to kind of detach that it’s my kid . . . I’m OK with it, but it’s taken some adjusting. But I have nothing but admiration for her willingness to go there.”
As an artist, Dunham says he hasn’t given Lena any advice. “I wouldn’t presume to,” he says, adding a quip: “I think I can probably use her advice more than she can use mine, at this point.”
515 W. 24th St.; 212-206-9300, gladstonegallery.com through 6 p.m. tomorrow.
— Billy Heller
Getty Images
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DON’T MISS!: THE DREAM CONTINUES
In the spring of 1956, as Harry Belafonte recounts in his memoir, “My Song,” the singer “picked up the phone to hear a courtly Southern voice. ‘You don’t know me, Mr. Belafonte, but my name is Martin Luther King Jr.’ I took a beat. ‘Oh, I know you,’ I said. ‘Everybody knows you.’ ”
That was the beginning of a beautiful, fruitful and activist friendship. And to mark King’s birthday, Belafonte will be the keynote speaker Monday at BAM’s annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — Come Share the Dream.
In addition, there will be musical performances by the Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir and R&B duo Kindred the Family Soul — and live streaming of President Obama’s Inauguration. Monday’s program begins at 10:30 a.m. at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave, Fort Greene; 718-636-4100. Free tickets handed out in the lobby starting at 8 a.m.
— B.H.
New York Post
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LISTEN UP!: ELLIE DANCING
Being a prodigiously talented singer-songwriter has been key to Ellie Goulding’s rise to fame, but having a few friends in high places hasn’t hurt, either. Back in 2011, she performed at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. “I was really scared,” admits the charming Brit. “But they made me feel so welcome, and we kept in touch for a little while afterwards. I would definitely play the christening if they asked me.” Not long after, Goulding also appeared at the White House for a festive function. “The president said he liked my coat!” Thankfully, she hasn’t forgotten us plebeians, and is set to showcase the delicate electro-folk of her latest album, “Halcyon,” at Terminal 5 on Monday and Tuesday. “I know the venue is a bit out of the way, but I promise you, it won’t be rubbish!” And if you don’t believe her, just ask the president. 8 p.m., 610 W. 56 St.; 212-582-6600, terminal5nyc.com.
—Hardeep Phull
Simon Emmett
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WATCH IT: WORK OF ART
Art Spiegelman, who received a Pulitzer for his book “Maus” — the story of his Auschwitz-survivor father’s experiences in the Holocaust and how he relates it to his son — is a thoughtful, chatty, funny, creative and sometimes troubled man. You get that in the documentary “The Art of Spiegelman,” screening Monday (6 p.m.) and Tuesday (4 p.m.) at the New York Jewish Film Festival.
“You know, I never saw it through,” Spiegelman says of the film originally made for French TV. “I figured I already knew everything in it, so there were other things I’d rather watch,” says the New York native.
“It’s not all about ‘Maus,’ ” he says. “It allows ‘Maus’ that centrality, but just indicates, ‘Well, he’s been up to some other stuff also.’ ”
As for turning his great graphic novel into an animated feature, Spiegelman says, “I think I’d have to poke my eyes out with a stick first. It took 13 years for it to find its proper shape as a comic. I understand comics, and I don’t really understand movies.”
Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St.; 212-875-5601, filmlinc.com.
— B.H.
