This past Wednesday night, the Museum of Arts and Design – that tall white building that commands Columbus Circle -- held a Paperball Gala to celebrate its first year anniversary at 2 Columbus Circle. The evening was planned to coordinate with the opening of Slash: Paper Under the Knife, a show of works done entirely in paper, featuring such artists as Olafur Eliasson, Tom Friedman, Kara Walker and more.
Several well known artists and designers in New York have created works on paper to celebrate this wonderful museum and support its commitment to arts education.
The sale of these works will go entirely to the benefit of the museum’s education programs. These programs provide the only hands-on education for thousands of New York City kids.
Works created in paper by Matthew Williamson, threeASFOUR, Kenzo Minami, Surface To Air, Ruffian, Greg Lauren, Craig McDean, Ryder Robison, Henrik Vibskov, Yeohlee Teng, Zaldy and more will be installed throughout the museum by the experiential art collective, Playground.
Coco Rocha and Mad Men’s Bryan Batt hosted the evening, and Paul Sevigney, Harley Newton and Cassie Coane and Leo Fitzpatrick were spinning.
The Museum of Art and Design is not a new museum, per se. It has been in existence for the past half century, beginning as the American Crafts Museum. Its development and transformation has occurred notably over the past decade through the efforts of certain supporters. One of the main ones is Barbara Tober, the former Brides Magazine editor (three decades in that position) who applied her learning garnered from her long professional life creating and marketing the artfulness of the special to help create this marvelous place on Columbus Circle.
JH and I had a tour of it one day a few months ago (we’ll get to show it to you one of these days). I was awed by everything about it. This is art, the future taken from the roots of modern culture and civilization. That sounds lofty but I don’t know any other way to put it. I can see that this museum has a brilliant future because it inspires the imagination. It really is one of the great Must-See’s of New York. Go there and see. It’s an amazing experience and deeply satisfying. |
