WhatsupNaddy!: PARTIES : TNT, the MoMA PS1 Benefit Gala

Thursday, June 21, 2012

PARTIES : TNT, the MoMA PS1 Benefit Gala

New York has no shortage of fundraisers, but magic lies in new beginnings and MoMA PS1’s first-ever benefit gala last night was no exception. Shala Monroque invited me, elfin actress Nora Zehetner, the beautiful Solange Knowles, and her stylish boyfriend Alan Ferguson along for the night, and had us girls dolled up at Miu Miu the day before. We all agreed that getting bedazzled at Miu Miu (Prada was one of the table’s hosts) was reason enough to attend, but the evening itself proved worth it. Klaus Biesenbach, MoMA’s PS1 director, pointed out in his speech that the night was all about performance, in celebration of PS1’s spirit—which according to him and Agnes Gund, president emerita of MoMA, was best captured by the gala’s honoree, artist Laurie Anderson. That “PS1 spirit” was felt throughout the evening, from cocktails downstairs, after which women with flower arrangements in their hair began, by means of an orange string, to lead the crowd upstairs, in a procession accompanied by a mad band of brass musicians, trumpets, and guitars. In the dining area, we found a dramatic spiral table, which snaked itself around a stage on which a woman in a hot-pink dress tap-danced to slightly offbeat drumming. I was almost too busy to pay attention to the commotion all around, having such a blast chatting to the others about music, handbags (Solange and I had chosen similar glitzy models), and summer plans. But we were brought back into the moment by the soft and enchanting voice of Glasser, a dreamy singer accompanied beautifully by the Ghostlight chorus. All this engulfed us while we dined on halibut, couscous, and lemon tarts. And beyond our cozy little corner, there were interesting faces to be spotted, among them many great artists, including Josephine Meckseper, Cindy Sherman, Francesco Vezzoli (who sweetly quoted a line from a recent column of mine to prove that he reads it), as well as John Giorno, and Mary-Kate Olsen, to name a few. What I liked most about the night, however, was that even though it was yet another benefit, somehow it felt true to the very spirit of PS1: slightly offbeat, young, and in a world of its own. No surprise that it will be on again next year.