ART in NEW YORK

I graduated from Georgetown University with a double major in English and Fine Arts. My arts focus was drawing, but I appreciated ART history as well. I would wander museums and sketch or just sit and explore the brush strokes of a piece of ART. I went to France and Italy one summer and museum hopped for days. That seems like a million years ago, now. I can’t even remember the last time I went to an ART museum or appreciated the arts, BUT I do remember at one time I thought ART was FABULOUS.

While in NEW YORK last week, I decided to try to reconnect with my love of the arts. To tell you the truth, the thought of museum hopping bored me to tears, but I was determined to make an effort to see what it was that drew me to ART in the first place.

First stop: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Monday afternoon, I decided to go to the MET (as the cool kids call The Metropolitan Museum of Art). My friend Annie (we went to high school and college together) and her two children came too. Since it’s so damn cold in the winter and you can’t take the kids to go play in the park, Annie had gotten a family pass to the museum for after school visits. I got to go in free as part of the family.

While Annie checked in, Tommy (5 years old), Lucy (2 years old) and I headed into the children’s information center to play on the computers. Lucy and I shared a computer and checked out what happens when you mix primary colors on a hippo. I liked when blue and yellow made green, but Lucy was pretty stuck on just yellow.

Next, Tommy led us through the exhibits that he likes best. First stop, Arms and Armor on the first floor (I’m more into painting and drawings, but I could appreciate his excitement over the metal clad horses). We quickly moved through the Egyptian ART (no one likes the mummies), Greek and Roman sculptures and vases (Booooring) and European sculptures (Tommy did NOT think it was a good idea to check out the naked statues). Luckily, we were able to make a pit stop to check out the modern and contemporary ART, Lucy and I admired the colors and the shapes in the Matisse and Picasso as well as other works by abstract expressionist. We also got to check out some European paintings by Monet, Van Gogh and Degas, before being led to the musical instruments section by Tommy.

Although, I didn’t spend hours staring at paintings or sketching like days in my past, this was my idea of a FABULOUS first exposure back to the ART scene (quick and painless and led by some fun kids).

Museum #2: The New Museum
Wednesday, while shopping in the village, I decided to check out the New Museum on the Bowery. It is devoted exclusively to contemporary ART and ideas. The building itself is a piece of ART and draws you in. It’s built as a stack of rectangular, aluminum boxes sitting off kilter. It looks like a FABULOUS sculpture that made me excited to see what I would find on the inside (also just excited to get out of the freezing cold).

I started on the top floor, which was an exhibit of works by Elizabeth Peyton called “Live Forever”. The two large galleries showcased paintings, drawings and prints of people ranging from historical figures (Jackie O, Frida, John F. Kennedy), celebrities (Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley, John Lennon) and the artist’s friends who are recognizable through out the exhibit. Peyton captures daily life in her ART and though I enjoyed the recognition of pop culture images (You know, I LOVE my celebrity gossip and such) I didn’t think her style was anything amazing or overly unique.

I made my way down the stairs to the next gallery with an exhibit call “To Be Somebody” with works by Mary Heilmann. The large paintings and strange sculptures were completely abstract with bold color and shapes. The catalog accompanying the exhibition said, “Heilmann’s works inject abstraction with elements from popular culture and craft traditions. Her straightforward, loose and casual approach reveals a witty dialogue with art historical preconceptions.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I’m sorry, but to me these works seemed messy and like something a 4 year old could do. The best part of the exhibit was the comfortable chairs where I rested my weary feet. Maybe I just didn’t get it, but I was unimpressed and a bit sad I spent the $12 entrance fee.

Gallery Openings:
Thursday night, a friend named Ann Joyce was having a gallery opening and sale in Brooklyn. I took the subway out to Dumbo (which stands for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass"), Brooklyn’s bustling ART section. I met up with my stepsister, Leona to check out Ann’s photographs printed on Polaroid paper. Her photos were compelling landscapes and images of people. Ann has a unique eye and talent to catch a moment in time.

On Friday, my good friend Grason was having another gallery opening in Brooklyn (who knew I had so many artsy friends?) Sadly, I got tied up at dinner and didn’t make it, but I wanted to mention it because his sexy, urban graffiti-esque ART really moves me. I think it’s amazingly cool to view ART by friends. You can really see their hearts, their passions and their emotions. I realize now that this is why I am drawn to the arts and I thank my amazingly talented friends for helping me reconnect with that.
To check out Grason’s gallery and works visit: www.montstore.com

Last Museum: Museum of Modern Art
My last day in New York, I decided to make one more museum trip. There are so many to choose from (The Whitney, The Guggenheim, The Sex museum), but I decided on MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). I braved the freezing rain (UGH! I can not wait to get back to LA) and the ridiculous swarms of people on Fifth Ave (What recession? People are still shopping in hordes). I arrived at 4:30pm thinking they were open till 6:30pm, but I was wrong so I only had 1 hour to explore the large museum.

I checked in, grabbed a map and headed to the top floor to start exploring. I moved quickly through the 6th floor, which housed twelve series of paintings, collages, objects and pastels spanning the career of Joan Miro. It was interesting to see how the focus and form change, but not my cup of tea.

Then I headed down to the 5th floor and wandered the galleries of paintings and sculptures from the late nineteenth century to present. I started to feel that old feeling again. I was drawn in and mesmerized by Van Gogh’s looping, soft paint stokes, Pablo Picasso’s cubism and the stories told by Salvador Dalí’s works.

On the 4th floor my heart leaped. My favorite: Modern ART. I enjoyed the works by Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol (I met him once as a child when he painted my mother and my sisters and I) and other contemporary artists. I was reminded of the playfulness and humor of ART with the life size sculptures of hamburgers and cake. I was feeling light and really enjoying ART when the loud speaker called, “The museum will be closing in 30 minutes.”

I rushed down and through the third floor photography, architecture and design then rested my weary feet for a minute on the second floor media area showing huge, moving images on the walls of people, flowers, worms. I felt like an ant dwarfed by the movement around. “Please move towards the exits,” the speaker called again and I bundled up to head back into the cold vowing to return again to continue my exploration of ART at MOMA.

I think, for sure, I have rekindled my love of the arts.
ART in NEW YORK is FABULOUS!