If, as Andy Warhol once memorably said, “Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes,” then the prince of pop art has long since run out the fame-o’-meter.
But Warhol’s enduring celebrity, a quarter-century after his death in 1987, is testament to his perception that the world was becoming a place where people would be famous simply for being famous. Twenty-five years later, “celebrity” is its own global culture — a world that Warhol helped to create, but perhaps even he would not recognize. Can you spell Kardashian?
In any case, the Westport Arts Center’s first Art Affair will be a Warhol-ian celebration called “The Warhol Ball – A Night at The Factory.”
The fundraising event, set for 8 p.m. Saturday, April 28, aims to re-create the atmosphere of Warhol’s legendary Manhattan studio, The Factory, at the Steel Shed, 140 Water St., Norwalk. In addition to food, music and an open bar, the event will feature live and silent auctions.
The event also will honor Westport resident Gary Cosgrave, a two-time past center president and current board member.
In the 1960s, The Factory brought together artists, writers, musicians, underground celebrities and art lovers. Warhol created iconic pop images of commercial brands and slogans (Campbell’s soup cans, among the most famous), as well as celebrities and newsmakers, produced brilliantly and bizarrely colored silkscreen paintings, and made more than 500 films at The Factory.
Proceeds from WAC’s Warhol Ball will benefit the center’s programs.
Ticket, which go on sale March 5, cost $200, $350 and $500. The $500 VIP tickets will include a pre-event cocktail hour with food, live performance by Otis and the Hurricanes, and contemporary artist Brendan Cass painting in action.
For information or tickets, call the center at 203-222-7070 or visit warholball@westportartscenter.org.
Tyler Hicks, a 1988 graduate of Staples High School, was with Shadid when he began feeling ill. Hicks later carried Shadid’s body across the border into Turkey.
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New York Times staff photographer Tyler Hicks stands on a wall at Belvedere Tower in New York City's Central Park in 2004. (ST)
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In this March 21, 2011 photo released by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from left to right, New York Times journalists Stephen Farrell, Tyler Hicks, Ambassdor Levent Sahinkaya, Lynsey Addario and Anthony Shadid pose at the Turkish Embassy in Tripoli, Libya. The four New York Times journalists who had been held by Libya crossed into Tunisia on Monday after being released. (AP Photo/Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) (AP2011)
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In this Feb. 2, 2011 photo provided by The New York Times, Times journalist Anthony Shadid, middle right, interviews residents of Embaba, a lower class Cairo neighborhood, during the Egyptian revolution. (AP Photo/Ed Ou for The New York Times) (Ed Ou)
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In this April 7, 2011 file photo, New York Times Beirut Bureau Chief Anthony Shadid discusses his capture by Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Libya, during a talk at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in Oklahoma City. The New York Times said Shadid died Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012, apparently of an asthma attack, while on assignment in Syria. He was 43. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) (AP2011)
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In this April 12, 2010 file photo, Anthony Shadid, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting with The Washington Post, poses for a portrait at the Watson Institute for International Studies, on the campus of Brown University, in Providence, R.I. The New York Times said Shadid died Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012, apparently of an asthma attack, while on assignment in Syria. He was 43. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) (AP2010)
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In this April 12, 2010 file photo, Anthony Shadid, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting with The Washington Post, poses for a portrait at the Watson Institute for International Studies, on the campus of Brown University, in Providence, R.I. The New York Times said Shadid died Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012, apparently of an asthma attack, while on assignment in Syria. He was 43. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) (AP2010)
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Tyler Hicks, Westport, Conn. native and New York Times Photojournalist talks to a crowd at the Westport Public Library where he displayed pictures from Afghanistan and Iraq from his new book titled, "Histories Are Mirrors: The Path of Conflict through Afghanistan and Iraq." (Connecticut Post File Photo)
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In this 2002 photo provided by The New York Times, Times photographer Tyler Hicks is shown. Hicks and three other Times journalists covering the fighting in Libya were reported missing Wednesday, March 16, 2011, and the newspaper held out hope that they were alive and in the custody of the Libyan government. (AP Photo/The New York Times, Fred R. Conrad)
Westport native Tyler Hicks, one of four New York Times journalists taken captive in Libya last year by forces loyal to the late Col. Moammar Gadhafi, was back in the international news late Thursday night because of a tragedy involving a fellow Times journalist.
Anthony Shadid, an award-winning and world renowned reporter for the Times who has spent the past decade covering the middle east, died Thursday of an apparent asthma attack, the Times announced.
Shadid was also among the journalists held captive last year, as were reporter Stephen Farrell and photographer Lynsey Addario, another Westport native.
The Times said Hicks, a 1988 graduate of Staples High School, was with Shadid when he began feeling ill. Hicks later carried Shadid’s body across the border into Turkey.
The Times reported:
But Mr. Hicks said that Mr. Shadid, who had asthma and had carried medication with him, began to show symptoms early Thursday, and the symptoms escalated into what became a fatal attack. Mr. Hicks telephoned his editors at The Times, and a few hours later he was able to take Mr. Shadid’s body into Turkey.
Hicks, a Boston University graduate, has earned national praise for his work photographing scenes in war-torn places from Chechnya to Libya and Syria.
He described some of his experiences, and the joy he gets from stints at home, in a 2004 interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group reporter Brian Lockhart that Lockhart republished on his blog last winter.
A sample of Brian’s story:
A graduate of Staples High School, Hicks majored in journalism at Boston University and spent his post-college years in the 1990s as many aspiring photographers do – building a resume through internships and jobs at small daily newspapers.
Landing at the Wilmington Morning Star in North Carolina, Hicks found himself more challenged than in some of the rural areas, where the biggest news was strawberry festivals and county fairs, but longed to join the ranks of international photojournalists.
“I would look at The Associated Press photos on the computer . . . from Africa and the Balkans,” he said. “I felt like I should be in those places, taking those kinds of pictures.”
In Shadid, the Times lost one of the most celebrated foreign correspondents in the country.
Shadid twice won the Pulitzer Prize — in 2004 and 2010, both for reporting on the war in Iraq. He was also a Pulitzer finalist in 2007 for his coverage of the situation in Lebanon, and had been nominated by the Times for a Pulitzer for his coverage last year of the Arab Spring.
The Times writes:
In the 2004 citation, the Pulitzer Board praised “his extraordinary ability to capture, at personal peril, the voices and emotions of Iraqis as their country was invaded, their leader toppled and their way of life upended.” In the 2010 citation, the board praised “his rich, beautifully written series on Iraq as the United States departs and its people and leaders struggle to deal with the legacy of war and to shape the nation’s future.”
They’re no “Rubes,” those members of the Applied Science Club at Staples High School.
But they are winners of a Rube Goldberg competition last weekend at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport.
This gizmo designed by members of Staples High School's Applied Science Club to pop a balloon was first-place winner in a Rube Goldbery competition at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport.
In the tradition of Goldberg, an engineer-turned-cartoonist known for his over-the-top gizmos that performed simple tasks, the six Staples club members designed a carnival-themed device to meet the contest challenge of designing a design a machine that would inflate and pop a balloon using as many energy transfer steps as possible.
The Staples Goldberg-ians concocted a machine that featured 20 energy transfers fashioned from pulleys, ramps, golf balls, waterfalls, a compressed air pump, a Ferris wheel and a razor blade that delivered the balloon-popping coup de grace.
The architects of the first-prize-winning device were: Clay Andrews, Megumi Asada, Dylan Klein, Neloise Egipto, Ben Shey and Tiffany Yang.
The team now has the chance to compete in a national competition set for March at Ferris State University in Michigan.
Mapping the future, right from Westport Town Hall.
That’s what is on the agenda for two public workshops planned over the next several weeks as the town offers training sessions for the latest version of the web-based viewer for GIS, or geographic information systems.
Westport Town Engineer Peter Ratkiewich says that his department plans the free sessions on two Thursdays, Feb. 16 and March 1, in the Town Hall auditorium. There will be a morning session from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon session from 1 to 2:30 p.m. both days.
“The training session will cover all aspects of the using the viewer and various tools,” Ratkiewich said in a statement. “A question-and-answer session will be held at the end of the general presentation.”
Town Hall’s auditorium is a Wi-Fi hotspot, so those attending are encouraged to bring their laptops to follow along with the presentation that will be presented on a large screen.
The workshops are open to the general public and town employees.
For more information, contact Ratkiewich at 203-341-1131, or via email at pratkiewich@westportct.gov.
Filling out income-tax forms can be less stressful this year for those who take advantage of “no-cost, full-service” tax assistance program provided to Westporters through the AARP volunteers. The program will devote special attention to helping local seniors and low- to moderate-income households, according to Barbara Butler, the town’s director of human services.
Tax preparation and electronic filing of state and federal taxes will be offered at two Westport locations beginning Feb. 1 until April 16.
On Wednesdays, appointments may be made at the Center for Senior Activities from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. by calling 203-341-5099. On Mondays, beginning Feb. 6, appointments are available at Westport Town Hall in the Department of Human Services office from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. by calling 203-341-1050.
“This year more residents than ever may qualify for tax credits, particularly the newly instated Earned Income Credit for Connecticut,” Butler said in a statement. “In addition to the Connecticut version, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit and Child/Dependent Care Tax Credit may be available to eligible taxpayers providing additional family income.”
IRS-certified volunteers provide the service to Westport residents of all ages and incomes at no charge. The Human Services Department has partnered with the AARP to offer the program.
Last year almost 300 returns were prepared and filed in Westport, almost all electronically, and more than $200,000 of refunds was returned to local residents, according to the statement.
More information may be obtained by calling the Human Services Department at 203-341-1050.
With all the warm weather that this winter has blessed (cursed?) us with so far this season, there’s one way to refresh your memory of what winter is really all about. And, don’t forget, winter still has two more months to do its more traditional turn on Mother Nature’s stage.
In any case, Earthplace, the nature preserve and environmental center in Westport, plans an event called, “Warming Up to Winter: A Celebration of Winter Inside and Out” — celebrating what it calls “a real New England winter” — on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on its property at 20 Woodside Lane.
The event will include a woodland hike with a naturalist to look for signs of wild animals at noon, a bonfire with hot chocolate and s‘mores at 1 p.m. and a drumming circle performance from Drum-N-Dance at 2:30 p.m. (percussion instruments provided).
Indoor activities will include making Inuit snow goggles, a crystal snowflake or a snowflake catcher and Earthplace’s “Animal Ambassadors” explaining how local wildlife copes with winter.
The cost, including lunch from the Firehouse Hotdog cart, is $20 per family. Call 203-227-7253 or check HERE for information.
Following is the statement released Tuesday morning by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Connecticut on the arrest of a suspect in the killing of 65-year-old Yekutiel Zeevi of Westport at his jewelry business in the Compo Shopping Center last December:
SUSPECT IN MURDER OFWESTPORT JEWELER ARRESTED IN SPAIN
United States Attorney David B. Fein, Westport Police Chief Dale E. Call, Colonel Danny R. Stebbins of the Connecticut State Police, Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Marshal Joseph P. Faughnan today announced that ANDREW ROBERT LEVENE, also known as “Robert Thomas,” 41, was arrested yesterday in Spain on federal murder, robbery and firearm charges.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed in the District of Connecticut, it is alleged that on the evening of December 8, 2011, LEVENE met with the owner of YZ Manufacturers, LLC, (“Y.Z. Jewelers”) in Westport, Conn., pretending he was going to complete the purchase of several large diamonds he had arranged to buy earlier that month. Instead, LEVENE shot and killed the owner of Y.Z. Jewelers, shot and wounded the owner’s associate, stole approximately $300,000 in diamonds, and later fled the United States to Europe.
Andrew Robert Levene, charged with the Dec. 8 killing of Westport jeweler Yekutiel Zeevi.
“I want to commend the Westport Police, Connecticut State Police, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania, New York and Spain for their expert, coordinated investigation that has led to the apprehension of this defendant,” stated U.S. Attorney Fein.
“We are proud of the efforts of law enforcement officials on the local, state, federal and international level who all contributed to the investigation and apprehension of this suspect,” stated Westport Police Chief Call. “We hope that it brings some peace of mind to the victims’ families.”
According to court documents, it is alleged that in early December 2011, LEVENE contacted the owner of Y.Z. Jewelers, a diamond dealership located at 431 Post Road East in Westport, and asked the owner to locate several diamonds that were between two and three karats in size and valued between $45,000 and $75,000. On the evening of December 7, 2011, the owner of Y.Z. Jewelers and an associate met LEVENE at the dealership. LEVENE examined the diamonds but told the owner he would have to “sleep on it.”
It is further alleged that, on the morning of December 8, 2011, the owner of Y.Z. Jewelers called his associate to inform him that he had scheduled a meeting with LEVENE for later that evening and asked his associate to bring to Westport the diamonds previously viewed, as well as additional diamonds. When the associate arrived at the dealership that evening, the owner and LEVENE were already in the store. The owner then showed LEVENE six diamonds with a total value of approximately $300,000. After looking at the diamonds and conversing for several minutes, LEVENE took out a gun and shot the owner and his associate. LEVENE then took the diamonds and let himself out of the store.
After LEVENE left the store, the associate placed a 9-1-1 emergency call. The owner of Y.Z. Jewelers was transported to Norwalk Hospital where he was pronounced dead. His associate also was transported to Norwalk Hospital for treatment.
On December 11, 2011, LEVENE allegedly flew from Philadelphia to Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
LEVENE was arrested on January 23 by Spanish National Police.
The criminal complaint charges LEVENE with one count of interference with commerce through robbery, one count of federal murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of causing death through the use of a firearm.
U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by the Westport Police Department, Connecticut State Police Detectives of the Western District Major Crime Squad, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The investigation has been assisted by the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk, the Philadelphia Police Department’s Homicide Unit, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New York Police Department, Interpol Spain and Interpol, United States National Central Bureau in Washington, D.C.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tracy Lee Dayton and Vanessa Richards.
A four-part program on financial planning for older adults gets under way this week at the Westport Center for Senior Activities.
The free program will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays — Jan. 19, 26, Feb. 2 and 9 — in the center, 21 Imperial Ave., according to Barbara Butler, the town’s director of human services. Her agency will host the CT Money School program, led by Westport volunteer presenter, Louis F. Albanese, president and CEO of Catamount Management Group. The school provides free financial education for adults.
On Thursday, the topic will be, “Investing in 2012: An Outlook,” which will include the latest on the state of the market and economy presented by Albanese.
On Jan. 26, the topic will be, “Eldercare Considerations: Resources and Choices” presented by Joel Muhlbaum and Sharon Rosen from the law offices of Joel D. Muhlbaum.
“Estate Planning and Taxes” is the topic for Feb. 2, with Shelby Wilson and Jan Bryniczka with the law firm of Berchem, Moses and Devlin.
On Feb. 9, the seminar topic is, “Proactive Planning for Stages and Ages in Retirement,” led by Joan Garbow of Joan Garbow and Associates Geriatric Care Management and Terry Giegengack from the Westport Department of Human Services.
Space is limited and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For reservations call the Westport Center for Senior Activities at 203-341-5099. A light supper will be served.
long since run out the fame-o’-meter.
140 Water St., Norwalk. In addition to food, music and an open bar, the event will feature live and silent auctions.
Great Post