NEW YORK, NY!

Times Square

Crowds in Times Square - we don't usually see this many people at once in Moncton, N.B. Canada!

Ellsworth Kelly's 'Sculpture for a Large Wall', MoMA.

Ellsworth Kelly's 'Colors for a Large Wall', MoMA with yours truly.

Tomás Saraceno's 'Cloud City' Installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

'Gibraltar' 1936. Calder's sculpture seems ready to move!

Inside the Lego Store at Rockefeller Center

Archived Sea Shells and Creatures at the American Museum of Natural History

Roy Lichtenstein's large painting 'Stepping Out' 1978.
 I used a poster of this work often in my art classes with second grade children.

'Morning Glories' by Suzuki Kiitsu (Japanese 1796-1858)
'Designing Nature' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Here a few photos and thoughts from my recent visit to New York City. My daughter and I had a whirlwind trip for four and a half days. We saw the exhibit of works by Picasso and Françoise Gilot at the Madison Ave Gagosian. Gilot seemed very influenced by Picasso's style, but her work appeared to be lyrical and positive where Picasso's seemed to be more brooding and anxious. 


At the MoMA, we also saw the extensive show of Cindy Sherman's photography. It was great to see the real thing after looking at so many of the portraits on the web or in print. I can relate to playing with 'dress-ups' and costumes as a child, but I have never pursued it beyond that. Sherman's "Film Stills" were much smaller than I imagined them. An image can be "epic" and influential regardless of its size. The life-size portraits are very impressive, however.

Also saw Taryn Simon's "A Living Man Declared Dead" and "Ecstatic Alphabets/ Heaps of Language." The readings I have been doing for Crit Theory II about archives are related to both exhibits. 


Simon's work showed the descendants of certain individuals whose families had undergone extreme upheaval and social change. Some family members were represented by blank rectangles because they were unavailable to have their photograph taken or they were no longer living. Each person was photographed in the same lighting and with the same background. An enormous tome formed the complete catalog. I was hoping for an abridged version, but there isn't one! 


The "EcstaticAlphabets" offered many iconic contemporary works involving patterns with words and letters. Many pieces were arranged in grids. The archival influence was very present.

Tomás Saraceno's "Cloud City" fascinates with its multiple reflections and transparent panels. It is disorienting to climb through it, but exciting at the same time. I didn't feel as if I was in the clouds or hovering in outer space, but I did feel like I was in a totally new environment. The view of the NY skyline from the rooftop garden is something to see as well.


We also went to see "The Lion King" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" on Broadway. A project like "The Lion King" would be the ultimate experience as a theater designer and puppet creator. I enjoyed making puppets, costumes and sets for our school productions while I was teaching art, but never envisioned anything as fantastic as the "Lion King!" The original recordings on LP of "Superstar" were part of my adolescence, with the music playing non-stop at my friend's house for months. Both shows were engaging and dramatic in different ways.


I was also able to connect with some of my cousins in nearby White Plains, NY. We hadn't seen each other in decades!


These are just a few of my immediate impressions from our trip. I will be digesting the rest for a while!

Walking through Central Park

Monument to John Lennon in Central Park near 'Strawberry Fields.'