Justin Davidson New Museum Architecture Tour
The New Museum of Contemporary Art; 5/19 at 4:30 p.m.; 235 Bowery., nr. Prince St., 212-219-1222
New York’s architecture and classical music critic and winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in criticism lends his expertise for a celebratory day of free admission and architecture tours in honor of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the Tokyo-based firm SANAA, architects of the New Museum and 2010 Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Matthew Barney
IFC Center; 5/20 at 9:25 p.m.; 323 Sixth Ave., at 3rd St., 212-924-7771
The artist and filmmaker (also known as Mr. Björk) will be on hand to introduce the first two chapters in his epic cycle of birth and sexual differentiation, which took eight years to make and culminated in a petroleum-heavy exhibit that took over the Guggenheim. The films are not for sale on DVD, so this is a special opportunity.
Mary Ellen Carroll
192 Books; 5/21 at 6 p.m.; 192 Tenth Ave., at 21st St., 212-255-4022
The multi-award winning conceptual artist will be present for a signing of her first monograph and a special performance at 7 p.m.. Space is limited, so RSVP to 212-255-4022.
Rising Currents Boat Tour
South Street Seaport, Pier 17; 5/21 at 6:15 p.m.; 19 Fulton St., at South St., 212-732-8257
It’s an art tour! On a boat! The five sites in MoMA’s architect-in-residence exhibition Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront will be discussed by representatives of the five participating teams who will explain how the solutions on view in the exhibition present new ways to occupy the harbor with adaptive “soft” infrastructures.
Melissa Auf der Maur
Housing Works Bookstore Café; 5/24 at 7 p.m.; 126 Crosby St., nr. Houston St., 212-334-3324
The former Hole bassist (a.k.a. MAdM) presents her solo multimedia project Out of Our Minds (OOOM), which combines twelve tracks with a 28 minute live-action short musical film shot by independent filmmaker Tony Stone. Stone, MAdM and the whole cast will be present for a screening of the film, Q&A, interactive presentation of the comic book, and a stripped-down performance.
Conversations with Contemporary Artists: Walead Beshty
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; 5/26 at 6:30 p.m.; 1071 Fifth Ave., at 89th St.; 212-423-3500
The Guggenheim’s Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance documents obsessive longing for the past by examining myriad ways photographic imagery is incorporated into recent practice. Walead Beshty is included in the exhibition and will discuss themes in his photographic works, as well as join participants in viewing the exhibition.