Art Shows - Dumbo Arts Festival and MoMA's Rock Paper Scissors

I attended two art shows recently, the 2010 Dumbo Arts Festival and MoMA's abstract expressionism exhibit titled Rock Paper Scissors.

The Dumbo Arts Festival did not show anything that stuck out in my mind. All of the galleries showed art attempting to push the boundaries of what we consider art to be. I sat in the park by the water and did some people watching around the neighborhood in addition to seeing the art. The art on the streets was as interesting as the art in the galleries.

(2629 take out meals are consumed every second in the USA)

The Rock Paper Scissors exhibit was unexpectedly very good. I usually think of painting when I think of abstract expressionism, but I loved the sculptures in this show.

The Sensational Josephine Baker

Friday night I went to see an off-broadway show called The Sensational Josephine Baker. It's almost unknown because it has not been widely marketed and is only in the theater for a few weeks. For some reason, I usually love these types of performances.

The one woman show was written and performed by an emerging playwright, Cheryl Howard. She was really great! From her portrayal of Josephine Baker to her hilarious portrayal of a jealous show girl who knew Josephine Baker but was not as successful, all of her characters were full of emotion and the costumes fit well.

The play gave a summary of her biography and I thought that it highlighted the differences in the racial climates between America and France in the early-mid 1900s. Josephine Baker's reason for pursuing a career in France was largely due to the desire/need to escape racial oppression in America. It was well done.

Missing David LaChapelle

Keeping up with the artists and gallery shows throughout the city is not easy when you are not fully in the loop. However, when you are involved in the arts, you often hear about various shows. I recently found out about a gallery show by photographer David LaChapelle, but was unable to attend. I really don't like when I miss shows, but it happens.

David LaChapelle had a gallery show called American Jesus at the Paul Kasmin gallery. I can just look at his website to see glimpses of this show as well as the numerous works that comprise this prolific photographer's career. His dramatic/theatrical scenes often incorporate celebrities and rightfully so... If I could be in his photos, I would be so excited.

Some of the American Jesus photos included Michael Jackson - "Shown for the first time in New York is part of a series which began over a decade ago including three large-scale photographs depicting Michael Jackson as a modern day martyr. Of all of the subjects LaChapelle has portrayed, Jackson unquestionably lived one of the most epic and dramatic lives of our time. Such sentiment is shown with biblical connotations and is hauntingly represented in these images."

Storm King

As the summer came to an end, my husband and I decided to visit Storm King during a day trip to upstate New York. It was both of our first times being there. I did not realize that it is 500 acres! We stayed 2.5-3 hours and only saw a small part of it. However, it was enough.

We were able to see a variety of sculptures. There was one stone sculpture of a giant open peach pit by Noguchi that is a symbol for the famous Japanese fairy tale - Momotaro (Peach boy). It was fun to sit of it and the children around really loved it.

Other sculptures were more unknown and abstract. It was a sunny day and the shadows casted by the sculptures was a very interesting part of the day. Below are two photos of a white metal sculpture that offered lots of great shadows:

In general, it was fun to examine the textures of all the sculptures. The photos below show polished steel, bamboo, rubber tires and graphite covered wood:

This was my favorite sculpture because it kept us wondering how it was made: