Momus Revisited

[ Nick Currie], the artist currently known as Momus, was in New York City this past week, performing at [Joe's Pub](http://web.joespub.com/caltool/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&performanceID=3251).  Born in Paisley, Scotland, the multi-talented, eye-patch-wearing writer/singer/artist/[blogger ](http://imomus.com/)is a former downtown resident – he lived in Chinatown during 9/11 but left not long afterward in March 2002.  

Currently living in Berlin, Currie returns every year or so.  As part of a performance piece, he impersonated a guide at the Whitney Biennial 2006, stopping in front of artwork with a megaphone and making off-the-wall comments, disarming visitors and guards alike. His [Performa '07] performance piece will be enacted by others since he'll be back in Berlin, but it involves whispering.  

We met up in Dumbo at the re-launch of [Zakka], a fun and arty store featuring books, toys, and other artifacts from Japan where he jammed with some of his Japanese friends. Later, on the small stage of Joe's Pub, he jumped around agilely and sang a solid set of ditties accompanied by Yximalloo, a Japanese outsider musician. Momus is in Denver, Colorado right now lecturing on the Future of Texture at the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Design conference. Endearing, thoughtful, literate, quirky, uninhibited on stage, he's no poser with the eye-patch – he damaged his right eye after contracting an infeciton from a contact lens case washed with Greek tap water.