The Arts!

Me and Nori with Alice in Wonderland

Central Park Conservatory Garden

I've only scratched the surface of the visual and performing arts here, and I'll probably never experience it to the fullest extent unless I win the lottery and quit my job to see art full-time. Even then I'm not sure it's possible with all the art at random twists and turns.

I keep meaning to sign up for galleries' listserves so I can attend opening night exhibits, but haven't gotten around to that quite yet.  I did read an article about the Upper East Side drawing more gallery owners now that Chelsea's gallery spaces have become exorbitantly expensive.  This brings me to one of the more embarrassing experiences I've had here.  I read about an exhibit opening for a new-ish gallery on the UES, but I skimmed the article regarding the exhibit and didn't really understand the concept anyway.

wall mural in Little Italy

After work one day, Eduardo and I went cross town to this gallery (that will remain unnamed in this article) on the second floor of a tiny building.  We walked up a flight of stairs, then peered into what looked like a house-warming party.  We walked up another flight of stairs, only to find a business that was not a gallery. We returned to the 2nd floor, walked into an empty room with just a few people in it, and Eduardo asked, is this the (Unnamed) Gallery?  The woman just looked at Eduardo, pointed to a man in a suit, and said, "It's his gallery.  Ask him."  Eduardo exclaimed aloud, "But where's the art?  Are we in the right place?!"

As it turns out, we were in the right place, but the art was basically the empty room, made to look as if it was ready for someone to move in.  There was another room off to the side, with more people in it, standing around, talking to each other, drinking beer, but not looking at the few pieces in the room. Eduardo and I left within a minute.  While I didn't regret "not getting it", I did feel bad for the gallery owner, who I believe was just starting out with a novel exhibit but without a clearly translated concept.

wall mural in Little Italy

My take-away from this experience, is that there is an abundance of art here, and while I want to be open to new artists and ideas I also have to be discerning with how to spend my time.

Central Park Reservoir after Neue Galerie

That being said, Eduardo and I attended a free museum night on the UES.  We skipped the Guggenheim to attend the Neue Galerie, a museum devoted to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design.  We enjoyed the special exhibit on "Degenerate Art" (the attack on modern art in Nazi Germany) and after our walk through Central Park we were inspired to watch the excellent documentary "The Rape of Europa" on Netflix.  

Moon Chest

One of the best exhibits I've seen here is the Ai Wei Wei exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.  His pieces are visually pleasing and well-crafted, but they are also politically and culturally thought-provoking.  He reveals problems in China and with the government at the expense of his personal and artistic freedom.

rebar from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake rubble

Last Saturday, Eduardo and I went to El Museo Del Barrio and the Jewish Museum, which were both free.  I learned quite a lot about Jewish history and culture (e.g., I did not know what the difference was between temple and synagogue), but I most enjoyed the special exhibit, Mel Bochner's "Strong Language".  At first glance, many of his pieces seem simple and silly (there was one painting with various "fart" words,  including "windy pop"), but his sketches show the considered thought in the order and type of words, and careful use of color.

There are also numerous outdoor summer concerts in the parks here.  A couple weeks ago, I met up with Amena, Lena, Grace, and Syrette in Prospect Park to listen to Amos Lee perform.  I hadn't heard of him before, but really enjoyed his music and his 80s/90s throwbacks, including a Boyz II Men rendition of End of the Road. I'm glad that Amena rallied everyone to enjoy the concert, as I'm not typically one to seek out musical concerts and need to develop my ear and appreciation for musicians.

With the upcoming schedule of summer concerts in the park, I'll surely be posting more on my developing musical ear...