Our favorite lesbian Cuban comic and performance artist, Carmelita Tropicana, gives an “artist talk” at the Brooklyn Museum. Oh, honey, do tell. “I’m going to be talking about the persona of Carmelita and how she speaks in tongues and how the tongue also translates into images,” said Ms. Tropicana. “In the late 80’s, I had a lot of fruit, and in the 90’s the fruit gave way to camouflage, and now it’s become very faux fur and plastic. … I’m still avant-garde. I only wish I was more derrier-garde!” Ms. Tropicana first burst on the scene with her 1994 film Your Kunst is Your Waffen about “a performance artist who bears a striking resemblance to myself. … It takes place on the Lower East Side, but also in jail. We found a beautiful jail in New Jersey. … I still live on the Lower East Side. Now we have French bistros and wine bars. … Before, when I moved in, I never walked on Second Street because of the drugs. It was the Wild East.” Ms. Tropicana then got reflective. “Performance artists, they don’t suffer from broken hearts, they just get material.” Meanwhile, a shopping event not sponsored by Condé Nast! Which means we might actually be able to afford something! … AIDS charity Housing Works’ January warehouse sale is full of designer surfeit from their thrift shops. Our kunst is already waffen!
[Carmelita Tropicana at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, 2 p.m., 718-638-5000; Housing Works Warehouse Sale, 48-49 35th Street, Long Island City, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 718-786-6160]