Today I took it easy in the morning as my knee was bothering me (probably a consequence of too much walking and my calf muscle still being weak from the injury in June). Wilson and Ming were heading home to Long Island, so I hung out while they got themselves packed up. I then headed to the Parker Meridien where I would be staying during the week. After a quick burger at the Parker's burger joint (a weird little shack like corner of the hotel serving only burgers and fries and taking cash only), I headed to MOMA. They have a show of Abstract Expressionism in New York. Turns out MOMA was kind of the epicenter of this art movement. This is not one of my favourite kinds of modern art, but there were some amazing pieces by Jackson Pollack, Philip Guston, Barnet Newman, and many others. The audio tour is free at MOMA and that always adds something to the experience, especially when viewing less familiar pieces. The sculpture garden had some new pieces, including a wishing tree by Yoko Ono which drew a lot of attention as participants could write a wish on a tag and add it to the tree. The second floor atrium featured a Kara Walker piece ("Gone...") which I've seen before. Another show that drew my attention was one called Small Scale, Big Change which showed several projects by architects designing to improve impoverished urban environments. Many of the projects were residences (either houses or apartments or rehabilitation of existing buildings) but there were also schools and community centers. Not only was the story of each project interesting, but the displays of models, drawings and other documents really added to the understanding of each project. This was one of those wonderful surprises that I love stumbling on when I visit New York museums.
Before heading back to the hotel, I took a quick stroll through the permanent painting collection and spent some time with Monet's Waterlilies. The audio tour talked about how these paintings were viewed with very little appreciation at the time they were created, but that a curator at MOMA discovered them in the 50s during the time when Abstract Expressionism was in full bloom in NY and felt a connection between Monet's works and the current art. Who knew that the Waterlilies were pre-Abstract Expressionist! I loved that the museum made that connection for me!
After MOMA, I headed back to the hotel and rested (including a quick nap). I waited for Lalida, who is our main contact at DCE in Burbank, to arrive from the airport so we could go out for dinner. The hotel recommended Trattoria dell'Arte which is right around the corner. As we walked there, I realized that we are literally next to Carnegie Hall! The restaurant was wonderful. Warm and friendly service, delicious food, and amazing desserts. We started with burratas (huge pieces!), tried two different pasta dishes (bolognese and a cacio e pepe) and cannoli and tiramisu. Everything tasted good and the cannoli really was the best I've ever had.
Tomorrow is the start of a busy week of work.
No comments:
Post a Comment