new york

From her small town beginnings in the Jewish Poland of 1872, Helena Rubinstein grew a cosmetics empire that spanned four continents.  By her death in 1965 at 92, this self-made magnate of beauty had not only amassed a world-class collection of Western, African and Oceanic art, but transformed how millions of women thought about themselves.  The Jewish Museum’s gorgeously-mounted exhibit, Helena Rubinstein: Beauty is Power, is aptly titled.  

Just a few blocks north of Chen’s crammed shop is a different world. Ten or so spacious storefronts are completely empty, with “for rent” banners on the awnings covered in dust. Some of them have been left like that for more than a year, as new tenants can’t afford the increased rents after former tenants are pushed out. Thanks to skyrocketing rents in recent years, this eerie contrast – shops crammed into tiny spaces next door to vacancies of spacious storefronts -- has become a fixed image in Chinatown. 

If it’s true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder happened to be Adolf Hitler and his Third Reich henchmen, then the likes of Kandinsky, Kirchner, Kokoschka, and Klee (and that’s just the early 20th Century artistic giants whose names start with “K”) were in big trouble.  By the time the Nazi campaign to purge the world of modernist art ended, some 20,000 pieces were confiscated, hidden, sold, or destroyed.  

The Anita Shapolsky Gallery in New York City is presenting a multifaceted group of abstract paper works by 27 artists the gallery has exhibited over the years. Paper experimentation shows the dichotomy between planning aspects in art and free form automatic drawing. These works show great technical skill which brings the artists visions to life. The works gives incredible insights into their diverse approaches and the timelessness of their art. 

Once a sea of working factories, then a deserted and crime-ridden no-man’s land, Williamsburg at the turn of the 21st century became a budding haven for New York City’s proverbial struggling-artist types for its cheap rents and quick access to the creative haven of lower Manhattan. A rapid decade and change of gentrification, though, has turned the neighborhood into a coveted – and expensive – place to live, as well as a checkbox on any New York tourist’s bucket list.

Once known as the “City of Light,” thanks to the hydroelectric power generated by nearby Niagara Falls, Buffalo’s fortunes turned with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957. Many of its white residents soon began to leave, and by 1967 race riots rocked much of the city. Today the unemployment rate lingers at just above 10 percent, while census data from 2011 ranked the city fifth poorest among those with populations of more than 250,000. Rates of crime and childhood poverty are also high. 

In Brooklyn, there is a large support system for independent film. Marco Ursino started the Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF) 16 years ago, and has owned and operated indieScreen in Williamsburg with his wife, Susan Mackell, since 2009. He remembers the first BFF’s slogan: ‘An Invitation to Cross the Bridge.’ “Now it’s the most normal thing,” he said. “Williamsburg has been the flag of progress. All that is alternative comes from here.”

Considering Gotham’s controversial history, no wonder the citizens possess a distinctive edge. The vibrant culture of the city induces feedback from every visitor -- even if the opinions are based on half-baked stereotypes. But having a New York story is what every visitor seeks; because in New York, like nowhere else, the exposure is the attraction. The soul of the city is felt on the sidewalks and subways, on the front stoop and back alleys. You just can’t paint it on the walls.