Volume 78 / Number 4 – June 25 – July 1, 2008
West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since
Artist is a cool cat
On June 15, friends of artist Jimmy Mirikitani — star of the poignant documentary “Cats of Mirikitani” — stopped by his assisted-living apartment to celebrate his 88th birthday. The film, by Linda Hattendorf, tells the story of how she helped Mirikitani, interned in a camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II and, decades later, homeless in Soho, pull his life together. The film won the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival’s Audience Award. During his party, the film ran in the background as Mirikitani and his guests enjoyed sake and a homemade cake decorated with a cat, one of his favorite subjects to paint.
