Scores of writers, artists, filmmakers, and readers attended Lawrence Weschler’s inaugural Wonder Cabinet celebration on Saturday. Sponsored by the NY Institute for Humanities, the nine-hour event mixed experts from every corner of the arts and sciences. The “wonder cabinet” theme was based on the aristocratic Renaissance fad of collecting curiosities, a practice Weschler analyzed in his Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet Of Wonder.
Novelist Jonathan Lethem unveiled a week-old short story. The day included a screening of Wholphin-curated films, introduced by Brent Hoff, the editor of the McSweeney’s film publication. GalleyCat watched the short films later, a collection that included work by rotoscope-master Bob Sabiston (who helped create Waking Life) and a meditation on the state of the sun with “Sunspots in Delirium.”
The day-long event gathered a spirited audience for artists, writers, and scholars; a weekend refuge for creators threatened by the recession. Author and illustrator Lauren Redniss showed off slides from her upcoming book about Marie Curie and radioactivity. “If publishing doesn’t collapse, look for it within a year,” she told the audience.