COURT IS OUT
Handball ‘sculpture’ rolls into Downtown
Tall wall: A sculpture in the form of a handball court, designed by contemporary artist
Harold Ancart, will stand in Cadman Plaza Park until March 2020. Public Art Fund
A weekend of mint leaves and laughter
64 COURIER LIFE, MAY 3-9, 2019 24-7
Community Bookstore’s pick:
“Dark Constellations,”
by Pola Oloixarac
Pola Oloixarac’s followup
to her widely acclaimed
first novel is a time-jumping,
post-human, sciencefiction
fever dream.
Moving deftly between
the 19th century and a
near-future surveillance
state, Oloixarac forgoes
linear narrative in
favor of impressionistic
sketches of the
colonial wreckage of the
Americas, post-industrial environmental
collapse, and mythical hallucinogenic plants that “break
down the barriers between one species and another.”
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore 43 Seventh
Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park
Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.commu nityb ookst ore.net .
Greenlight Bookstore’s pick:
“Birthday,” by Cesar Aira
This memoir by Argentine
writer Cesar Aira, written
for his 50th birthday, is his
strongest work to come out
in a while — subtle and
masterful, though very different
from a lot of his other
books in its intimate, more
direct personal narrative.
He finds an access route
to the deepest regions
of a passing thought
without overworking
anything. With Aira, you
always want to go along for the ride.
— Jarrod Annis, Greenlight Bookstore 686 Fulton St.
between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort
Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com .
Word’s picks:
“I Miss You When I Blink,”
by Mary Laura Philpott
If you are experiencing
anxiety, burnout, an identity
crisis, or all of the above,
Mary Laura Philpott’s memoir
is a must-read. She writes
about everything from
the “dreaded 80” she got
on a fourth grade test to
the house-sitting job she
accepted to temporarily
escape her busy schedule.
Her essays are personal
but also relatable.
Overachievers of any age feel
understood.
Victoria Rodriguez, Word 126 Franklin St. at Milton
Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbookstores.
com .
The best reads
— handpicked by
some of the best
Bklyn bookstores
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By Aidan Graham It’s an art installation, apparently!
A handball court with a colorful
paint job has popped up in Cadman
Plaza Park in America’s Downtown.
But this is no ordinary ball-smacking
surface: the 16-foot high structure is
actually an interactive sculpture titled
“Subliminal Standard.” It is the brainchild
of Brooklyn artist Harold Ancart,
who painstakingly modeled his creation
after the varied color scheme used
by the Zen-like maestros of the City’s
Department of Parks and Recreation.
“Walking around, I notice the
walls, that are graffitied, and then the
Parks Department appoints people to
repaint them, and it’s as if they have a
point of honor in using a color that is
slightly different,” said Harold Ancart.
“When the process repeats itself over
the years, it gives birth to these incredible
natural paintings. And they’re
really good because the people who
paint them are extremely nonchalant,
and have no intention at all.”
The sculpture, officially unveiled
on April 30, stands starkly in the
center of a grass field like an extraterrestrial
artifact from a sci-fi story.
Despite its vibrant color scheme,
Ancart says that the ubiquity of the
city’s 2,000-plus handball courts
makes his work of high art something
you might completely overlook.
“You can almost put a handball
court anywhere, even though it’s like
this massive whale, and it will blend
perfectly in the landscape because it’s
already everywhere,” he said.
Ancart developed his installation
in concert with the Public Art Fund,
which brought the interactive “Bridge
Over Tree” to Brooklyn Bridge Park .
The group gave Ancart the opportunity
to re-imagine the court as an artistic
blank canvas, he said.
“What is wonderful about a handball
court, from the point of view of a
painter, is that it is the only structure
that offers free standing walls,” he
said. “So basically, whatever is going
on in there is already perfectly framed
in midair.”
Ancart said he felt liberated to
“perfectly frame” a series of yellow,
red, light blue, and grey rectangles,
because the installation barely felt like
art at all.
“It’s good that you can almost
engage with this abstract painting, as
a painter, without having to care about
the weight of the history of art, or anything
on your shoulders, because it’s a
playground. It’s fun,” he said.
To the surprise of no-one who
views the work, Ancart took inspiration
from the creative chaos of the city
and began his piece without plotting it
in advance.
“If you really want to pay tribute
to what happens naturally in the city, I
think it was very, very important not to
come up with a plan,” he said.
“Subliminal Standard” at Cadman
Plaza Park (North Lawn between
Cadman Plaza East and Cadman
Plaza West, Downtown, www.publicartfund.
org). On display daily, May
1–March 1, 2020. Free.
By Bill Roundy Brooklyn is in mint condition!
This Saturday is Derby
Day! On May 4 you
have the perfect excuse
to dress up fancy
and pretend to be
a Southern belle
or a Kentucky
Colonel. You can
spend the afternoon
sipping mint
juleps, and perusing
a racing sheet
to determine which
improbably-named equine
you will root for during the roughly
two-minute horse race, which will
kick off around 6:50 p.m.
There are plenty of places
in Brooklyn where you can go to
indulge in your Kentucky Derby
fever. If it rains on Saturday, as the
forecast predicts, we suggest watching
at underground bar Understudy
(445 Albee Square West, basement,
between Fulton and Willoughby
streets Downtown, www.dekalbmarkethall.
com/understudy). The
doors will open at 2:30 p.m.,
and the first 10 people
to enter while wearing
elaborate Derby hats
will get a free mint
julep — available in
classic bourbon and
mint, with basil, or in a
new-fangled pineapple
variety made with gin.
But if the clouds
clear, you should make your
way to Parklife (636 Degraw St.
between Third and Fourth avenues
in Gowanus, www.parklifebk.com),
where the race will be broadcast on
three screens, and the mint juleps
will flow all day. The mostly outdoor
bar will have plenty of space to swan
about, and those in the best outfits
could win a prize. RSVP is required,
but you should still be sure to show
up early if you want to get in — it all
starts at 2 p.m.
You can spend Sunday afternoon
recovering from the indulgences of
Derby Day, but buy your ticket now
for “Persisticon III,” an astounding
comedy show happening on May 5 at
7 p.m. at the Bell House (149 Seventh
St. between Second and Third avenues
in Gowanus, www.thebellhouseny.
com). The night will feature a long
lineup of funny ladies, including Alex
Borstein, from “Family Guy” and
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” along
with Park Sloper Ophira Eisenberg,
Michelle Buteau, Kerry Coddett, and
token dude David Cross. Standing
tickets cost $30–$50, seated tickets
are $80–$100, and VIP seats are
$130–$150 — but it all goes to a good
cause! The event, subtitled “There is
no Planet B,” raises cash for Emily’s
List, which works to elect women
with strong environmental records.
/understudy
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/www.wordbook-stores.com
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/www.publi-cartfund.org
/www.publi-cartfund.org
/www.publi-cartfund.org
/understudy
/www.commu
/understudy
/www.parklifebk.com
/www.thebellhouseny
/www.commu
/ore.net
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/www.parklifebk.com)
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