City Week: August 27 - September 2, 2010

A Selective Listing of Recommended Cultural & Community Events Compiled by [Reid Spagna]

Friday, August 27 Origin of the Deadheads's Grateful Dead: Now Playing at the New-York Historical Society delves into the history of the iconic rock band and its fans, the Deadheads. The exhibit is composed of memorabilia from the Grateful Dead Archive. The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West; 10 a.m.-8 p.m., $7-$12. A Legend for Our Times's The Department of Parks and Recreation hosts a rowdy interpretation of a timeless classic. Banana Bag & Bodice presents Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage, a reimagining of the title character"s triumph over the monstrous Grendel and the beast"s evil mother. East River Park, FDR Drive and East 6th Street; 8 p.m., Free. Saturday, August 28 New View of Matisse's Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917 displays a variety of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints that demonstrate the Frenchman"s growth as an artist. MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St., 212-708-9400; 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., $12 to $20. Monday, August 30 Mountains of Creativity's A world of buddhas, bodhisattvas and divine beings has been brought to the Big Apple all the way from Eastern Asia. Gateway to Himalayan Art utilizes various paintings and sculptures from the region to envelop visitors in the culture of the Himalayan Mountains. The Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St., 212-620-5000; 11 a.m.-5 p.m., $2-$10. Sunday, August 29 Fish of Shiny Scales's The creations of renowned architect Frank Gehry light up the Jewish Museum. Fish Forms: Lamps by Frank Gehry exhibits eight multi-media sculptures of fish, which are lit from the inside to serve as lamps. Gehry was originally inspired by shards of broken glass, which were reminiscent of fish scales. With this in mind, he built his fish-shaped lamps with a wire frame filled in by glass. The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave. (at 92nd St.), 212-423-3200; 11 a.m.-5:45 p.m., $7.50-$12. Tuesday, August 31 Imperial Decorations's The Koichi Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts museum presents its fall exhibition of Japanese art. Kokon Biannual: Fall "10 displays pieces from the many eras of Japanese history, including ceramics, paintings and sculpture. A highlight from the exhibit is a pair of folding screens from what is now Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Koichi Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts, 17 E. 71st St., 212-744-5577; 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Free. Seeing Stars's The American Museum of Natural History looks to the stars during its astronomy program on the final Tuesday of each month. Highlights this month include Surfing the Galactic Plane with Ted Williams, utilizing the museum"s Star Projector for visitors to discover our galaxy"s infinite array of stars and celestial bodies. Hayden Planetarium Space Theater, 5 W. 81st St., 212-769-5100; 6:30 p.m., $13.50-$15. Wednesday, September 1 Harpist's JosÃ&Copy; Luis will be bringing the magical harmonies of his harp to Saint Peter"s Church as part of its Midtown Jazz program. Saint Peter"s Church, 619 Lexington Ave. (at 54th St.), 212-935-2200, 1 p.m., Free.