nyc 2010: misc.

i enjoyed getting a feel for different areas in new york by strolling by foot. there is so much to see on almost any given road. after all new york is a city of diversity: art, architecture, food, people, etc.

i think public spaces are very important elements within a city. rockefeller centre, and washington square are just two i can think of off the top of my head. pictured here is the green market at union square. i love the sense of community. i found people in new york to be very friendly. on two occasions people stopped me, because i had a map in my hand, and offered to walk me towards my destination.

something unexpected in new york in march: renovations and "spruce up" work. bryant park and washington square were just two examples of projects undergoing this work around the city. my guess is by summer the work will mostly be complete.

in a previous post i have spoken about the moma. with picasso's les demoiselles d'avignon i wanted to point out just how amazing this museum, and in general how art culture is in new york. the moma (along with several other galleries) has a tremendous collection of very important works. new york is a city that sets trends and that inspires a world of things (art, architecture, etc) around the globe.

a general note: the weather in new york in march was cold (but to be expected for this time of year). between 2 and -2. suffice to say i did not dress warm enough, making it a challenge to spend hours on end walking. however, i found the motivation to keep going. after all, i was in nyc. i miss the city dearly, and will have to visit again in 2011. cannot wait.

nyc 2010: public library

this was my second visit to the new york public library, stephen a. schwarzman building. and again i was taken by the architecture, the feel of the spaces throughout, and the lighting (natural and artificial). i am a fan of modernist architecture, but there is something to be said for classicism/neo-classicism. the stephen a. schwarzman public library is a beautiful building, and one that i feel a strong connection with. i would spend a lot of time here if i lived in new york. a very tempting idea, living in new york . . . even just for a few months.

nyc 2010: moma

sol lewitt. serial project, i (abcd). 1966.

a full scale helicopter. it's the moma, why not?

visiting the moma was a profound experience for me. i started my visit to the museum by going through the exhibition marina abramović: the artist is present. this show runs until may 31st and is a retrospective of her work. marina herself is present in the museum every day through to may 31st. when i entered this exhibit to my right was a video installation of a new work of marina's, dated 2009 . in this work marina stands as still as she can holding a full pot of milk, all the while trying her best not to spill. marina wears black, like a nun's outfit, and when milk does the contrast is consequently dramatic. to the left of that of this work was a video showing one of her older and well known performance pieces: where using a razor blade she cuts the pattern of the star of david on her stomach. i am very sensitive to the sight of blood, and this piece put me into another zone right away. however, i continued to go through marina's entire exhibition. one work that has received a lot of attention is one where a real life man and woman stand facing each other in a doorway. viewers can go through this doorway by walking through a narrow space (about 12") between the man and woman. the space is so tight that you inadvertently end up rubbing yourself against their bodies. apparently more people choose to face the woman then the man. realizing i could go around the exhibit and avoid this passageway, i neglected to go through the naked man/woman exhibit. i was, after all, still affected by the blood video!

on the third floor of the moma a large section is devoted to architecture and design. i loved seeing the good design exhibit: it was something i had studied during my architecture undergrad. another show on the third floor focused on proposals for a waterway near chelsea. the presentations were immaculate, and showed a variety of solutions and building types.

nyc 2010: highline

an incredible project, an old raised railway station turned into a park. running from gansevoort street to 34th street , between 10th and 11th avenues. it was rainy the day i visited but that didn't stop people from going for a stroll - a testament to how new yorker's feel about the park. i love the views and perspectives of the city the raised park affords. one monumental residential building stands above the highline. it reminds me of corbusier's marseille block with its large raised pillars and overall aesthetic. i will definitely be checking this out the highline again the next time i visit. for more info visit: www.thehighline.org

new york 2010

i visited lovely new york from march 25-29. i have assembled a bunch of photos (condensed version!) that i will put together in some organized way to show what captured my attention on this trip. 4 sections on new york, coming one by one as i have time.