Lux Lotus

Tonight & Tomorrow in New York

I am publicizing both of these events, and they are both FREE, and easily two of my favorites, ever, that I've had the distinct pleasure and good fortune to be involved with in my career. Both promise to be the perfect evening (and you know I'm picky), so do join us if you're so inclined...

Tonight (Tuesday):

Video Still from Sunday in the Country with Larry Rivers by John Glassie

"Meditations in an Emergency" opens at jen bekman, 6-8pm: a group exhibition of work in various mediums inspired by and interpreting Frank O’Hara’s poem of the same name.

Tomorrow night (Wednesday):

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced a new event series, "Upstairs at the Square," to be held at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan (33 East 17th Street at Union Square). The series will feature journalist Katherine Lanpher in conversation with established and emerging authors and musicians, who will read and perform their work. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

"Upstairs at the Square" kicks off on Wednesday, June 21, at 7:00PM with Elizabeth Gilbert, author of The New York Times bestselling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia and singer-songwriter Jen Chapin, whose new album, Ready, will be released next month as a follow-up to Linger, which National Public Radio called "a brilliant debut album."

5 Q's about Literary PR

Tayari Jones (The Untelling) has an interview with me on her blog today, entitled "Meet Lauren Cerand, My Publicist."

My Life in Pictures: A.M. Monday

Every day I walk by 40 Mercer, and every day my heart breaks. $5,000,000 apartment envy does that to a person. The worst, worst most merciless part: they are almost all gone. Why do I bother living in New York? I ask myself this more and more. At least, the very least, the building is on block that exudes gaucherie like a heady perfume. That fact soothes me.

Today was one of those days when I left for a meeting at 3pm, expecting to be home in an hour, and got home just after 11pm. It all seemed so logical at the time! After the first meeting, I went to pick up some flyers for Upstairs at the Square, and then I stopped by Joe, The Art of Coffee for the second fix time today, and ran into, oddly enough, Jen Bekman, Jeffrey Teuton and Stephen Elliott. Seriously. It was like that dream where you're in your house, but it's not your house...

From there, I popped into Rugby, but even though I was quick, it was that twilight time where the Progressive Reading Series was at 7pm, and it was maybe 6pm, and it didn't make sense to go home just to leave again. So I went for a burger at Old Town Tavern and savored the solitude and a delicious dinner by myself (I am leaving out the constantly ringing phone, multiple crises et al). Then, the reading: it was very good.

Sean Wilsey, Ariel Levy, Colson Whitehead and host, the afore-mentioned Steve, got a lot of laughs, which made the evening enjoyable and quite unusual in that it was a reading with five authors and yet not boring at all, not even for a moment. Malcolm Gladwell read from Big Hair, a book by his "cultural hero" Grant McCracken, that actually sounds rather fascinating. Jonathan Franzen read a sublime essay about, among other things, his apartment three blocks away from where I used to live on the Upper East Side, and it reminded me of the time I saw him in a nearby restaurant and he looked exactly like his author photo down to the vaguely repelled expression. After the reading ended, I walked home from 34th Street to several blocks below Canal Street; I just felt like it, I guess.

OK, I still heart 40 Mercer forever!!!, and New York, sure, until I find something better. A darling student designed this theatric ensemble and it was on display at NYU. It's like, my 40M fantasy uniform, natch.

The Smart Set: June 19 - 25

In this week's edition of The Smart Set, my list of all that's haute + happening, for MaudNewton.com: 10 reasons to postpone that picnic.

{image source}

Sailor's Delight

I rely on stylish scenester Diane Pernet and her blog, A Shaded View on Fashion, for the latest in fashion-forward news, e.g. this shot she snapped at the student shows in Antwerp of Spanish designer Andrea Anala Closa's divine designs for a clutch of bearded ladies. Another of Diane's addictively chic picks: prettypretty.be. And Dino Dinco, "original L.A. badass," "Shaded View" contributor & all around perfect party guest! Other fash-blogs I can't get enough of lately: La Femme, Clamor for Glamour, Letters to Marc Jacobs, Counterfeit Chic, Fashionologie, Dans Nos Sacs and Alphaville, et al. & on the streets of NY, missing Penvern!

Mama Said

This evening I'm seeing Babylove, based on a Nerve.com essay and "a hit in Ljubljana," & I can't wait! More later, for sure.

Photo source: Christen Clifford by Tal Shpantzer Photography

Lux.Links

• F. Flare's Paris Diary: Lunch w. "Miss Communication at Colette"
• Protagonists of Parisian novels, and objects of their desire
• The initial selections are uninspired but the concept is pitch-perfect: Bergdorf's Book Club.
• Listen: fridahyvonen.com > samples > "I never want to see your pretty face again..."
• Wes Freed, who's done album covers for Drive-By Truckers, contributes an illo to DriveLikeHell.com, in a series inspired by Dallas Hudgens' rollicking debut novel
  

Instant Love NYC (& Elsewhere)

Tonight is the launch party for a just out, superlative work of fiction that I am delighted to be publicizing, Jami Attenberg's Instant Love. Jami will be reading from her refreshing debut at Borders in Columbus Circle at 7pm, and oh, you want to be there, sitting next to me in the front row and clapping like hell. Afterwards, we'll decamp to a nearby bar for drinks on the patio. From here, Jami embarks on her national tour. Coming up in the next few weeks: Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Napa and more! You love it already. See? It's instant. And it's like that.

Windowlicker

Sometimes I want my apartment to look like an enchanted forest. Fortunately, crateandbarrel.com is "on it."

Dunes Chair, on sale for $799

Faux Bois Console Table, priced at $699

Twig Étagère, priced at $299

Twig Bunch Wall Sconce, priced at $49.95

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST.

Zobop-a-Lu-La

When I was last in DC, I made a beeline for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the "Directions" installation by Jim Lambie and it was duly rewarding. In Lambie's pop-psychedelic montage, mundane items are given intricate, esoteric meaning via their presentation, replication and application. While sections of the exhibition are arresting, it is somewhat poorly presented in the museum's high-traffic lobby.

Noted:

Turner Prize finalist Lambie (b. Glasgow, Scotland,1964) has transformed the Hirshhorn's lobby into a vibrant, colorful, and immersive environment. The artist meticulously adheres vinyl tape to the floor in a geometric pattern that responds to the building's architecture. The floor is further enhanced by a group of sculptures-three new pieces made on site using existing elements and materials found in thrift stores, markets, and pawn shops throughout Washington. Lambie's interest in “making edges disappear” breaks down the divisions between sculpture and other media. As a musician and DJ, he often creates work explicitly related to music that strives to replicate the experience of being transported by a favorite song.

The most striking element is Zobop, the sharp, angular, pattern of fluorescent stripes created on the floor with tape. There's a fantastic program I picked up with color photos and an excellent essay by associate curator Anne Ellegood, but it doesn't appear to be online. Highly recommended if you're in town. Through October 2.

Pictured: Zobop staircase in the home of private collectors, Miami, FL.