Taking the usual walk out the hotel, to the right, and then down 7th a block to 28th street to catch the subway I am regularly met with a group of youths … ranging from late teens to mid twenties who mill on the corner. This has fascinated me since I have arrived, as every morning they commute. None of them have carried any notable documents, or bags or anything that would explain why they hang out on the street in little clusters chatting. It is out the front of a pizza shop walk up, but again none of them eat or do anything other than chat….really is perplexing…my mission will be to try and find out what they are doing before I head home!!
Walking towards MoMa, I had a hint of panic I see people snaking in and around the streets. Given I had arrived half an hour after opening; I thought I may have by passed the line. Do I join the queue or do I bypass in assuming these people need to buy a ticket? I opt for the later given I have my pre-bought ticket from my Top of the Rock combo, and thankfully made the right decision. The MoMa building itself is very white and very open but surprisingly, a lot of confusing signs are posted everywhere. Signs about not taking in bags and having to check them in to the coat check. So I line up, take out my purse and camera and phone from my bag in preparation. Get to the line and the long haired hippy looking man says “uh ahhh, no miss-e, we don’t check those bags in!” with a look of sheer disgust! “oh”, I said, “so I can take it in with me?” he pauses as if computing what it was I said in obviously another language other than English and responds “well you can’t leave it here is all I am saying!”
Right, so out the line, and off with my pre-purchased ticket into the other queue with bag in tow that I don’t need to check in after all.
Get to the scanner lady who shakes her head at me and says I need to go to the Information Booth to exchange my ticket for an entry pass. What the? What a most complex system! So I head back in the other direction to the Information Booth with a slight confusion as I don’t need information I just need to get in! And hand over my cardboard pre-purchased ticket for an exchange of what can only be described as a Petrol Station shop-a-docket! Right, so back to the other queue to the same lady who nods and smiles at me and lets me in! Unless I missed it, it would be great for a small explanation of such a complex backward system. If you have a pre-purchased ticket, one would assume it means you are set. Oh well, on to the Museum.
The museum is divided into 6 floors from Contemporary Galleries, Prints, Drawings, Photography and Architecture and design on floors 2 and 3 to paintings and sculptors on 4 and 5 (split years) to special events on the 6th floor. My ticket included the special event on the 6th floor with work by Henri Matisse - Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917
Starting on the second floor in the contemporary gallery my first ‘Hmpf’ moment was seeing a three piece 1996 series of etchings by Rosemarie Trockel
By explanation of her description, it shows that she put yarn/wool onto the canvas. Not intending to be at all negative or facetious, but cards I have received by the kids in Reception and Year 2 have shown more artistic flare than Rosemarie! One woman stood at these pictures for a good half hour…perhaps she knows something I don’t, but I will be the first to admit that I am not culturally artistic at all…. But I really was stunned on the second art work of minimal meaning!! Brice Marden 1973 art entitled Grove Group….inspired by colour of a stand of olive trees while in Greece. He depicts the art as being ‘Highly emotional’…. I note with interest the word HIGH….
I seem to stick to mainstream Picasso, Dali, Van Gough, Warhol, Matisse etc before the Trockels and Mardens of the world! But each to their own!!
The award for the most intense art of the day would have to be Bruce Nauman – Days exhibition. The whole room was filled with hanging blank canvases that when you approached said the days of the week in both male or female and different tones over and over…the sound was worse than the drowns of the vuvuzela’s of the world cup. I’m amazed that the security guard in that exhibition doesn’t have nightmares!
All in all I did enjoy my day at MoMa despite my opinions of what would be described as ‘contemporary art.’
Walking from MoMa to FAO Schwarz toy shop, I noticed a line out the front of one of my favourite NYC stores, Abercrombie & Fitch. The line snaked around the block and went at least 35 people deep.
I walked around, walked back and had a peek in the entrance to see what the line up actually was for….
HELLO NEW YORK CITY!!!
Actually, the line was just to enter the store, and have a photo taken with the model if you so chose. I opted to tie my shoelaces from the sidewalk!! :)
After a small moment of fanning myself, of course from the intense heat and humidity from the day! I then headed onto the toy store. The toy store is amazing. Not only does it have an awesome candy section, whereby you can make your own sherbet straws, they had life size bears, giraffes, and African inspired animals as well as stuffed puppies and a complete Barbie section. Of course the standout of the store is the Big Piano from the 1980’s Tom Hanks movie BIG. Unlike in the movie where it was on the ground floor, this is in the back upper section, where you can line up to have a go. (Yes I did have a little tinker on it!!)
I think the stand out for me though, was the Make your own Muppet section called Muppet Whatnot Workshop. For $99 it was a bit costly, however, you could literally make your own Muppet which looked highly cool!
Once the rain had died down and the sky cleared, I headed into Central Park and was amazed to see the line for the Shakespeare in the Park still so long. I had missed out on that day’s online tickets, and did have a moment to wonder how many of those in the line would actually get tickets. I spent quite a number of hours in Central Park watching softball games (some very serious and the players all kitted out, and others looking more social, with only a top or hat signifying the team). There was something very ‘New York’ about sitting watching the softball and eating a giant pretzel!!
Jumping back on the subway to head to the UWS (Upper West Side) and to Zabar’s I had my first experience of being a show off! Being able to correct a local with directions he was misgiving some tourists was a great moment for me, but I certainly felt the pain of daggers for the rest of the ride, and was happy to jump off when I did!
Given Zabar’s is a kosher deli; I was still amazed at the number of Jew’s shopping. What amazed me was the mix of those with the curly sideburns (I think more radical?) as well as the others with the hats…it still amazed me to think that their hats stay on despite the heat and humidity!! I do pose the question and welcome any answers….if those with hair use clips to keep the hat on….how do the bald men keep theirs on???
I sampled some yummy Olives and Cheeses while there, but enjoyed their signature Frozen Yoghurt. The flavour of the day was Pomegranate. It was zingy and yummy and really hit the spot after walking all day.
Yes shorter blog today....my creativity was stolen by the museum!
Until the next one,
Lots of love Bee xxx
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