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Travel Blog: Art and Falafels in NYCPublished on Jun 22, 2008 by kristin5683 |
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1. Chapter: MoMA and Monet |
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One of my favorite painters is Claude Monet. I visited his house and garden in France. When I saw that there was a large display of some of Monet's waterlilies at the Museum of Modern Art, I knew I would be making a stop there. I stayed with my friend in Harlem and MoMA is in midtown. We took the 1 to 50th Street and walked over to the museum. I was expecting there to be a line since I was visiting on a weekend, but the only line was a short one at the coat check. I had looked at the website, which advises that bags over a certain size have to be checked, so I had left my large tote bag with my friends. With my little purse and my credit card ready for the $20 (yikes!) entrance fee, I was inside in under two minutes. I immediately went upstairs to the top floor to see the Monet exhibit. I knew what floor it was on, but not exactly where. I wandered through each of the rooms, waiting for it. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of one of the Monet's. My heart beat quickened and I caught my breath. But I didn't go over immediately. I waited and wandered through the other rooms on that floor, saving Monet's work like dessert at the end of a meal. Finally, I walked in. I spent a moment or so gazing at the japanese bridge painting and then walked the length of the room, back and forth to see the large and impressive display of three massive canvses that fit together as one large image of Monet's waterlily pond. It was incredible. I just sat and stared and was happy. I got a fellow tourist to take my photo in front of it and am considering framing it! Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: art monet culture moma nyc |
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2. Chapter: Books, how I love them |
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On the second floor of the MoMA is the gallery devoted to Prints and Illustrated Books. As an English major and a writer, you can imagine my joy at that particular part of the museum. One of the quotes that was a part of an exhibit stuck in my head - "Empowerment does not mean entitlement". Made me think. There are woodcuts, screenprints, lithographs as well as more traditional books. Redisplaying an everyday item in a museum, like a book, makes you rethink it's function. Particularly for a book, because one imagines books as being made solely for reading, not necessarily for being considered visual art. There was a table full of what seemed to be mostly children's books - some trade books and others created for the project. Another exhibit was a shelf of handmade books. There are pieces by Toulouse-Lautrec, Gaugin, Munch and others. Very cool section. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: moma nyc art books |
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3. Chapter: Take Your Time and changing perspective |
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Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist who has an exihibit at the MoMA entitled "Take Your Time". It ends at the end of June 08, so don't miss it! To sum up his work, he tries to change perceptions. One of his pieces is a yellow light shining in a room. Big deal, you think - a yellow light - who cares? But as you walk through the light, it makes everything look black and white. You look down at what you're wearing; it may be brightly colored but all you will see is shades of gray. It's fascinating. Without the people there, the light would simply be a yellow light. There are a number of other installations including one of mirrors and prisms that cause the colored lights in the room to continually shift and change. As you walk through the room, your shadow becomes a transient part of the exhibit. These were the two exhibits that most impressed me of his. They were simple things, but they made you think. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: art culture installationart moma nyc |
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4. Chapter: Art in the subway - 50th Street Station |
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Back to 50th Street Station, where I noticed an Alice in Wonderland themed mosaic underground. I've been used to hearing a number of buskers in the subway stations, but not always seeing art. The mosaic wasn't overly detailed, but it was fun and beautiful with Alice looking behind a curtain and the white rabbit looking on. Apparently there is art at a number of stations throughout the city. Has anyone seen any or have any suggestions as to where I should look for more underground art? New York City really is a place where anything can happen - even art and whimsy underground in midtown. It was definitely a bright spot - something fun and different. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: art nyc subway |
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5. Chapter: Union Square - falafels and farmer's market |
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It was around 2:30 and everyone was getting hungry and a little bit cranky. So we headed to Union Square Park and to the little falafel store near the park, Maoz. We headed into the park to eat. Union Square Park is lovely. It's a little oasis amidst the bustle of the area. There are tables and chairs, benches and stone tables topped with chess/checker boards. There is a large statue in the park and plenty of trees for shade. We lucked out and got a table to sit down. There were some homeless people napping on some of the benches which was a bit off-putting, but it's NYC, it's hard to miss the homeless. At one end of the park, there is a farmer's market. That was our next destination. We headed there a bit sooner as thunder began to echo off of the buildings and clouds rolled in. We dashed to the market and sheltered under an awning and perused the fresh produce as we waited for the storm to pass. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: falafels nyc unionsquare farmersmarket |
