Art, Literature, Ice Cream: It Must Be August in Sag Harbor

Tonight, Eric Fischl will be signing copies of his monograph, Beach Paintings, at the Rizzoli at Empire Gallery (197 Main Street) from 6 to 8 and a few blocks away Colson Whitehead will be signing copies of his novel, Sag Harbor, at Bookhampton (20 Main Street) at 8 o'clock. Keeping it low-key are the congregants of the Old Whaler's Church (44 Union Street), who are holding their annual Ice Cream Social tonight from 5 to 7. Where is the cute sign that they usually display before this, one of my favorite events of the summer? From the looks of the lawn this morning, you wouldn't know that hot dogs, ice cream, carnival games, and pony rides will all be enjoyed in just a few hours. Go here for more information.

New Bookstore Reminds Me of Cookies

On Sunday I took a stroll over to the new Rizzoli bookstore at the Empire Gallery (197 Madison Street). It was wonderful to page through sumptuous art books in the sunny space. After using the Japanese vintage photo generator and visiting the Whaling museum last week, I am seeing Victoriana wherever I go. At Rizzoli, I went straight for the silhouettes in the Kara Walker catalog, After the Deluge. Of course I was struck by the artist’s use of old-fashioned silhouettes to explore the politics of race and gender. But more than this, I was struck by the coincidence that just the day before I had bookmarked these silhouette cookies, determined to figure out a way to link to them on my blog because they are so extraordinarily beautiful.