Photo by myself outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the Upper East Side.
The steps of the Met are often crowded with people standing, taking photos or sitting during a break.
There are blocks of stone above the columns, for whatever reason. This was part of the original design, and have always struck me as looking unfinished. It might be a reference to archaeology, but I'm not sure.
Happy Friday, everyone!
Related posts: From the Rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum, on the Upper East Side, and The New York Historical Society, at Dusk.
Showing posts with label museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label museums. Show all posts
Friday, February 22, 2013
The Steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Grand Central Station in Miniature, at the NYC Transit Store
Photo by myself at the NYC Transit Museum store, at Grand Central Station.
The 11th Annual Train Show opened on Wednesday at the NYC Transit Museum Store at Grand Central. The large model shows Grand Central, the rail tracks and many buildings including the Empire State Building.
I've mentioned the different levels of Grand Central before, and you can see it in the model above - Park Avenue slopes up north of the building so that you're on a raised platform when you get to the station. Cars wrap around the building to the front and then descend to street level via a ramp.
The storefronts on the actual street level are shown all lit up. Below that are the trains, shown with the ground cut away. Trains leave from Grand Central to upper New York, Washington DC and Connecticut daily.
Children were mesmerized by the miniature people, buildings and trains that moved back and forth. A train set is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.
The model train is set in the Transit Museum Store, so admission is free. It will be on view until February 10th of next year.
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the States. Banks and offices are closed for the holiday. Mark and I will be driving to Long Island to have Thanksgiving dinner with his mother and friends.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Related posts: Outside Grand Central Station, in Midtown, Sharing the Sidewalk, on 42nd Street, and Grand Central, and Tall Tales.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Outside the Neue Gallery, on the Upper East Side
Photo by myself at 86th Street and Fifth Avenue, on the Upper East Side.
A number of yellow vehicles convened at an intersection outside the Neue Gallery, on the Upper East Side. I took this photo from the rear seat of a similar yellow vehicle ;-)
The Neue Gallery is a small gallery devoted to the decorative art of Germany and Austria from the turn of the 19th Century. They regularly exhibit drawings and paintings by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka.
The museum is housed in a stunning townhouse built in 1914. The roof is covered with slate tiles and the round attic windows are clad with copper, against the weather.
Related posts: The Whitney Museum, on the Upper East Side, The Getty Villa, in Malibu California, and The New York Historical Society, at Dusk.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Outside the Met, on the Upper East Side
The steps at the Met were nearly clear of people, earlier this summer.
We're at the height of tourist season and now, the steps are flooded with people. Most people sit on the steps, hanging out. It's a nice place to congregate after a visit to the museum. Often, musicians perform at the bottom of the steps.
Related posts: High Above the Metropolitan Museum, East Side Versus West Side, and How to Get From Here to There.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The View from the Met and One Last Thing about Japan...
The view from the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a scenic one.
This is a popular place to take a date. There is a bar and sculpture garden. From here, you can watch the sunset and lights of the city come on.
I didn't think I had more to say after returning from our 12-day trip. But tonight, while very jet-lagged, my fiance Mark switched on a documentary that was highly recommended to him, called Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
The movie is divine. It tells of an 85-year old sushi chef, Jiro Ono, whose restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars, and his relentless, daily devotion to his craft.
Jiro left home at the age of seven. His two sons are also sushi chefs, working alongside their father.
The movie is beautifully shot. Anyone who appreciates color photography will appreciate this film. At the beginning of the movie, Mark said 'Oh, I wish we'd seen this earlier...we could have gone to the restaurant.'
Um...no. The tasting menu costs 30,000 yen per person, or about $375 USD (!!!). The movie was filmed in 2011 and opened in New York in March, 2012.
Here's the trailer:
For the Times review of this movie, click here.
Related posts: From the Rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, On Japanese Food and Fish, and Serving Up Sushi, at 15 East 15th. Read more...
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The New York Historical Society, at Dusk
The steps outside the New York Historical Society on the Upper West Side were quiet, Tuesday evening. Just to the left out of frame is Central Park, which becomes a quiet presence at night.
The society is comprised of a museum and library. It is overshadowed in popularity by the Museum of Natural History, just a few blocks north at 81st Street. The Museum of Natural History is huge, and is known for its planetarium, fossils and dioramas.
I have to admit that I've never gone inside the New York Historical Society, but the exterior piqued my interest. Current exhibits focus on Keith Haring, the borough of Harlem and paintings by John James Audubon.
For more about the Historical Society, check out their website, here.
Related posts: Night View, at the New York Public Library, The Met-Life Tower, in the Rain, and Twilight, on West 4th Street.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Whitney Museum, on the Upper East Side
Photo by myself on Madison Avenue and 75th Street, on the Upper East Side.
The modern facade of the Whitney Museum of American Art includes a huge canopy made of concrete, that is supported at the ends. The building was built in the mid-1960s. I was in the neighborhood on Monday for a doctor's appointment.
The museum's permanent collection includes work from Matthew Barney, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and my personal favorite, Berenice Abbott.
I'm not hip enough about modern art to know anything about the current exhibits, which are ultra-modern and include conceptual and video art.
To check out the Whitney website, click here.
Related posts: From the Rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, High Above the Metropolitan Museum and Another Look at the New Museum, on the Bowery.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
From the Rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Photo by myself at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A nest made purely of bamboo has invaded the roof of the Met.
Now until the end of October, this sculpture is on display overlooking Central Park. It is inhabitable, too - stairways and ramps are constructed within the 100-foot length, where visitors can go for guided tours.
The sculpture is made of interlocking bamboo poles lashed together with elasticized nylon, and was conceived as a work in progress. Its form will morph over the course of the installation and spread east. The sheltered space underneath is used for people to mill about or stand on line for drinks.
Below the sculpture, small groups of people convene in the shade.
Stairs and ramps are built into the structure.
The sculpture looks like a bird's nest from the outside.
Lights are discretely strung up for nighttime illumination.
The roof of the Met is a popular spot for drinks on Fridays, since it is open until 9 pm. The view is incredibly romantic, since you can see the sun setting and the expanse of Central Park.
While waiting in line at the bar, I noticed people hanging onto the poles. Bamboo is known for its remarkable strength, and is routinely used in tropical countries as scaffolding material. Despite its chaotic form and height, the sculpture seems in no danger of collapse.
The wonderful thing about this sculpture are the spaces it creates. I have seen this installation from afar, and it doesn't look like much, just a heap of sticks. Up close and within, it's a different story.
Thankfully, the designers left the gorgeous view of the Park unobstructed.
The spectacular view southward through Central Park.
For more about the exhibit, visit the Met website here.
Related posts: East (Side) Versus West (Side), On View, from the Upper East Side and Another View at the New Museum, The Bowery.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Through the Looking-Glass, in Midtown
Photo by myself in Midtown, around 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue.
A large poster advertising the Museum of Modern Art at its PS1 location in Queens was on display in Midtown. The poster interacted with its location, seeming to depict an indoor pool beyond the glass.
I've heard about the installation depicted in the poster: museum-goers look down as if into a swimming pool. Meanwhile, other museum-goers are below a pane of glass and look up as if from the bottom of a pool. It's a clever installation made more believable because water skims the glass that divides the two groups of people.
The poster itself plays on the installation, by using the glass of the building as its frame of reference. The people in the poster are full size, so they relate to the real onlookers outside, on the sidewalk.
To see more of the PS1 exhibit, which is on display until March 1st, click here.
Related posts: Art Underground, the MoMA Way, East (Side) Versus West (Side) and What's on the Walls, Underground.
Friday, August 15, 2008
A Peek at the Planetarium
Photo by myself, of the Hayden Planetarium at the Natural History Museum, at 81st Street and Columbus Avenue.
You can see the trussed structure within, that supports the exterior glass and models of planets. The larger curve is a part of a huge spherical theater inside.
Visit the museum to view a giant simulated night sky, movies showing a moon walk and photos from space.
I have to admit I've never really been to the planetarium shown above, since tickets are so costly.
The entrance fee alone is $15. Then to see the huge screen, IMAX movies, it's 24 bucks. Special exhibits held at the Museum of Natural History, next door, are 24 bucks. I mean, geez.
I'd once been invited to see the exhibit on Petra several years ago. My host and I had been seduced by the advertising, which used the classic image of an Italianate facade carved entirely from a rock face.
The exhibit turned out just okay. Pretty dry.
(Note to self: don't fall for pretty pictures!)
Related posts: At the Brooklyn Museum - The Dizzying World of Murakami, and East (Side) Versus West (Side).
Read more...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Heigh-Ho
Photo by myself, from the All-Star Parade last week, at 6th Avenue and 42nd Street.
There's still nothing like a policeman on horseback to keep the crowds in check.
I've heard from people who have worked with horses that horses don't realize how big they are. They observe the world from their heads, meanwhile their heads have no idea how big their bodies are.
Actually in New York, now until January 2009, there is an exhibit going on at the Museum of Natural History all about the horse. You see the posters all over the subway these days showing the Lipizzaner, the striking white horse that performs in civic functions, especially in Europe.
Related posts: My First Run-In with the NYPD and Code Yellow.
Read more...
Sunday, May 18, 2008
At the Brooklyn Museum - The Dizzying World of Murakami
Photo by myself, part of a massive Murakami sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
The Murakami exhibit is going strong until mid-July at the BMA, located near Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn.
Mark and I walked through Prospect Park today to the Brooklyn Museum of Art to see the Murakami exhibit that is currently on view.
Takashi Murakami is one of Mark's favorite artists. Recently we saw a television program that showed him fastidiously choosing every color in his large scale murals, in a paint-by-numbers way. If you're not familiar with his art, I'd describe it as playful, colorful and prolific.
Murakami combines cartoon characters, a huge palette of glorious colors, logos and comic book techniques into a dizzying array of work. Sea green topped mushrooms bare their teeth, surrounded by swirls of pinkish orange and coral. In another room, the walls are covered with cartoon eyeballs of different sizes.
For a slide show of the BMA exhibit, click here.
Some of the murals are gigantic, comprised of several panels into works 30 feet long. They are glorious and colorful, often with backgrounds of matte gold or silver. Some of the images resemble patterned wallpaper and was reproduced to cover the galleries from floor to ceiling. There were also incredible sculptures, as well as products on sale, produced for Louis Vuitton.
Recently the exhibit has been heavily advertised on the subway, and I hope parents are warned at the door. Some of the art is for adults only. I can only wonder what some children thought of a couple sculptures with exaggerated anatomical features. Ahem.
In general, the exhibit was fantastic and inspiring. If you're in New York in the next couple months, do make the trek over to the Brooklyn Museum.
For a the Times review of the exhibit, click here.
Related posts: How to Get From Here to There, and East Side Versus West Side.
Read more...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Au Secours
Photo by myself near the Park Avenue Armory at Park Avenue and East 66th Street.
The annual Whitney Biennale is on display there until June 1st, 2008. The event shows current work from around the world. The Whitney Museum is located several blocks away in a striking Brutalist building by architect Marcel Breuer.
For more information about the Biennale, click here
This morning I had my nose buried in the latest New Yorker. The subway was lurching along between the first stop in Brooklyn stop and Manhattan.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a woman yelled out, 'Is there a doctor on this train? Is anyone a doctor?! Does someone know CPR?!!'
My view was obscured from the sick passenger. Fifteen feet away from me, most people seemed calm. I doubt there were many doctors on a subway at nine in the morning, but there could have been an EMT, who knows.
Not to alarm anyone, but no one rushed over to the troubled end of the train. In fact, some riders went back to reading their magazines, or closed their eyes to get back to napping.
I was shocked. Maybe people decided that since they didn't know CPR, they could do whatever they pleased? Maybe they judged the lack of panic (aside from the shouting woman) as a sign that everything was okay?
The woman who shouted explained that the person had had a seizure. At that point, the train emerged from the tunnel to cross the Manhattan bridge. A couple passengers whipped out their cell phones.
I felt guilty. Should I do something? Should I have done something? How could I be shocked by people napping when I was equally inactive?
When the train pulled into the station a couple minutes later, an MTA guy jumped into our car. By then, the sick person had come to and was fine, refusing medical help. The train doors closed and we were off to the next stop. I quietly promised myself never to get sick on a train.
On my way home tonight, I saw a man trip on the sidewalk in the semi-darkness. A couple older men nearby came over to help. One rescuer picked up the man's hat, the other helped the man get on his feet.
I shouldn't give up my faith in New Yorkers quite yet. Read more...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
How to Get From Here to There
Photo by myself in the lobby of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, at 82nd and Fifth Avenue.
There are several entrances off the elegant main lobby into the museum. You can linger in this large, active space without purchasing a ticket.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone! And thanks to all for the kind wishes for the new job. It went off without a hitch, thank goodness. Phew!
Everyone is very friendly at the new place, and I forsee an easy transition. There were the usual New York questions, namely what trains do you take in the morning. Honestly, one's commute is so often the common denominator among people. The subway is this city's melting pot, the equalizer and every other metaphor that unites disparate entities.
I can live in Brooklyn and you can live in the Bronx. We can come from vastly different demographics but share the same opinion about the Number 3 train. The only time the subway fails to bond people of course, is when someone doesn't take the train. This does happen, by the way. There are plenty of folks who can't bear to go below ground.
One of my friends lived an hour north of the city. Dale developed anxiety attacks while riding the subway, though her experience on September 11th was benign. On that day she was unable to return home, so she stayed at a friend's house.
Later, Dale's sensitive nature made her long daily commute impossible. She developed anxiety attacks and couldn't bear the train ride underground. Fortunately, her job was such that she could work from home.
I haven't talked to Dale in a while and I should get in touch. Most likely, one of the first topics of conversation will be the commute. Read more...
Friday, March 14, 2008
East (Side) Versus West (Side)
Photo by myself at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street.
World reknown for its permanent as well as visiting exhibits, The Met needs no introduction. You can find everything here including paintings, sculpture, mummies, designer clothing, furniture and musical instruments.
I did something today that I haven't done in years. I went to the Upper East Side.
Ahem. Pardon me, Upper East Siders. Though I now live in Brooklyn, I lived on the Upper West Side for ten years. I am a diehard West Sider. Fairway, Broadway, the 1/9 train, these landmarks are my blood. Madison Avenue, the Museum Mile and the 6 train are foreign to me.
For those who don't know these divisions, the East Side is known for 'old money', housed in stately limestone buildings along Fifth and Park Avenues. Madison Avenue is the Beverly Hills of New York, lined with boutiques and flagship stores that few can afford. Many of the established museums are located along Fifth Avenue (the Met, the Guggenheim, the Cooper Hewitt).
The West Side, on the other hand, is considerably smaller in size. Historically, musicians and artists lived on there. Where the East Side is known for grand limestone facades and the large modern high rises of the 80's, the West Side is known for brownstones along the sidestreets and beautiful brick apartment buildings along West End Avenue.
No divide is so simple, however, and I'm generalizing in a massive way. (I am also completely neglecting the entire downtown area, but never mind).
The rivalry between East and West is generally good-hearted. Kramer joked about the East Side on Seinfeld all the time. The real Jerry Seinfeld supposedly lived for a time on West 81st Street.
Anyhow, yes. I went to the Met today. I walked around the outside and the insides and my visit was mind boggling. My mind was simply boggled. I could return next week and the following weeks and not tire of the place.
The painted gallery spaces, the tremendous front lobby, the fashion exhibit downstairs. I have to ask myself, why have I stayed away so long? Can I blame it all on the East Side?
No, I cannot. It is my own sad laziness.
For more on the Upper East Side, click here.
For more on the Upper West Side, click here.
Read more...
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