Fight Fire With Fire

When the time comes for frivolity, none are more frivolous than the staff of Wit. In declaring style political we feel that loud is not loud enough. However, the serene turquoise pool outside the West Hollywood bungalow that houses Wit's Los Angeles office has two markings on its painted concrete rim: Deep, and Deeper.

So when the time comes to be serious here in the offices of Wit East in occupied New York City, none are more serious than we. So we must ask: Friends, is there ridicule enough in the world to meet the challenge of the New Museum's IT Factor conference, press release below?

We at Wit Of The Staircase have an answer to the question posed by this conference's subtitle, "What makes something hot?":

Dousing it with gasoline and putting a lit match to it makes something hot.

With this in mind, The Wit Of The Staircase offers $1,000 and the purchase of a battery operated bullhorn to anyone willing to shout down this conference with amplified cries of "9/11 Was An Inside Job."

We'd do it ourselves, but we're directors here, not performers.

Contact info in upper right corner of this page, and don't miss the documentary, linked below, on the mysteriously hot fires of 9/11. Thermite makes things hot, too.

"The IT Factor: What Makes Something Hot?
A Hot Button! Panel presented by the New Museum

Wednesday, March 28, 2007
6:30-8PM

The Great Hall at The Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street @ 3rd Avenue, NYC

Free for New Museum members and Cooper Union students and faculty.

Join the New Museum and five legendary tastemakers as they break down the cult of cool and give insight into their participation in its creation: Clarissa Dalrymple, talent scout; Mayer Rus, Design Editor, House & Garden; Francesco Vezzoli, artist; Anthony Vidler, architectural historian; and Irma Zandl, trendspotter and Principal, The Zandl Group. This panel will be moderated by Laura Hoptman, Senior Curator at the New Museum. The panel will also feature the first U.S. viewing of Francesco Vezzoli‚s newest video, Marlene Redux: A True Hollywood Story! (2006, Courtesy Collection François Pinault).

The IT Factor: What Makes Something Hot? will take place on Wednesday, March 28, 2007, from 6:30 - 8PM, and address the zeitgeist, charisma, and the herd mentality in the worlds of art, architecture, design, and fashion.

The IT Factor is the third in a series of popular Hot Button! panels, presented in anticipation of the reopening of the New Museum at 235 Bowery in late 2007, and represent the spirit of an institution dedicated to new art and new ideas, and ready to embrace debate. The Hot Button! panels are designed to encourage frank conversation on issues widely discussed in private but less candidly so in the public arena.

Organized by the New Museum in association with the School of Art at The Cooper Union, these panels are held in the Great Hall at The Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street at Third Avenue. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door. More information can be found at< http://www.newmuseum.org> http://www.newmuseum.org or 212-219-1222.

The New Museum's Hot Button Topic Panels are generously supported by Altria Group, Inc.

The New Museum receives lead general operating support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and the trustees and members of the New Museum. Additional support provided by American Express, Bloomingdale's Fund of the Federated Department Stores Foundation, Con Edison, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., and May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation."

New Museum
210 11th Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10001
212-219-1222

Link: New Museum of Contemporary Art.

Link: 9/11 Mysteries (Full Length, High Quality) - Google Video.

Comments

[Mr. Boggle]

I'm confused...why is this so scandalous? It's a group of smart people in various positions talking about a very intriguing concept. Conceptual conversation between artists/etc. Don't quite understand what you're afraid of? Sounds interesting.

[theresalduncan]

Why, Wit does not fear these dotty, lovable geezers--au contraire.