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:

Seeing and Listening

I recently started playing the doumbek drum. It's a middle eastern hand drum. I have always wanted to play african drums, but I never found a teacher. I now have a great teacher and my experiences overshadow my dreams of playing African drums (at least temporarily).

Every weekend I go to 107th Street and Central Park East. I walk along one of the most beautiful parts of central park and enter the building that Amir calls home. Meetings are held in his living room. The floor and parts of the walls are covered with persian and persian-like tapestries, while drums, string instruments, percussion instruments and other miscellaneous things to play fill the room. About 5-10 people gather each week for the music circle that he leads. Most of us are drummers and some people sing. Amir leads us with a lute and singing, occasionally adding a flute, drums and whatever else he is in the mood for. The music fills the room and everyone participates. Some of us go to see Amir for individual classes to formally learn how to join in, while others continue to do whatever feels right. He takes his most advanced students to concerts with him. So, if I keep this up, that's where I'm heading.

As I learn to play the drum, the atmosphere of his living room has been a large part of the experience. Looking at the different instruments and international tapestries make me feel comfortable, looking at the hands of more advanced students helps me to check myself, and the passionate expressions on participants faces, including Amir's, communicate to me each week.

Mary and Max

Claymation is so fascinating! To think that animation was created with clay and looks as professional as the animation that is drawn... I know how it's done, but how do they get it so such a level of professionalism?

Mary and Max was an example of amazing claymation and overall, a great movie!

The MET - Behind the Scenes

When I invited a friend to see what was going on at the Met, I completely forgot that her husband was working behind the scenes doing conservatory work. Even when she mentioned that he could get us in for free and show us his studio, the extent to what I would be shown did not sink in.

We got to the Met and started our night with a tour of his studio. He works in the offices/studios where visitors cannot see. His particular office is for himself and one other guy who specialize in painting on wood panel. They were restoring a few at a time. With his chemical engineering background he tends to work on the structural part of pieces and even had one small piece in a homemade incubator because they were working on getting creases out of the portrait. It was famous, but I forgot the name.

He then brought us to a painting studio where they focus on removing old varnish and repairing painting damage. The lighting was amazing and, like the studio he works in, the rooms are newly renovated and fully equipped. This studio included a Velasquez portrait. We also walked through the photo studio. They take infrared and ultraviolet shots to see what's behind the surface of the painting, revealing older layers and sketches. They can print these shots and hung a few on the wall. They could have made an exhibit on their own. We also saw the studio where people work on the frames of paintings. It was so fascinating that these people are working with art that's hundreds of years old and made in such mysterious ways. Looking so close up makes you really appreciate the quality of these works.

I've never been a big fan of old European paintings and this section of the Met has never been a place I made sure to check out when I visit. However, this day it all came alive. For me, it's always been the skill and craftsmanship that are impressive rather than the subjects or what they communicate.

We walked from Alan's studios into one of the galleries where the visitors were roaming. We saw the paintings that were not under construction hung, knowing it's Alan and the people who work with him maintaining them. He showed us one painting where the varnish was starting to discolor, but it wasn't that bad. It would probably need to go to the studio in about 75 years! He showed us where paintings have seems because they were sewn together from the painter not having big enough canvas or from an art dealer who cut them to make more money. There's now one painting up in the Met where the first layer of the painting was taken off to reveal an underlying image and then paint was further removed to reveal a sketched portrait in the middle. The revealed layers gave it an interesting collage feel. Looking so closely at all the paintings got us into a conversation about color and it is so amazing how vivid some of the colors are after being hung for hundreds of years.... one of the ones I pointed out had not even been restored at all!

Looking closely at all these paintings occasionally evoked curiosity about the subject matter. This was unusual for me. I noticed that some of these paintings show women beheading men. I remember that years ago I felt that these old European paintings were very oriented towards male domination. I'm not sure if there were different paintings, if I just missed a few, or if I just glanced over these without knowing. There was one painting near Bosch paintings that had the cutest creatures in the bottom right corner of the right panel.

After looking at these we strolled through Picasso. It felt ground breaking to have Picasso at the Met with all of these historical works. It was the first time Picasso was at the Met and my mother thought it was because they recently hired a new curator. I thought it was a statement of how times are changing and Picasso is seen as more classic than modern. The collection that they had was very impressive with hundreds of works of sketches, printmaking and painting. Alan knew that the Met had an impressive Picasso collection and said that they just didn't display it. The Met has a lot of work that they do not display.

Finally we relaxed on the rooftop with a drink under the bamboo structure of Doug and Mike Stam. This work seemed so modern and interesting, but not as complicated as what Alan has been restoring. I originally wanted to go because of the bamboo structure on the rooftop. However, the unexpected storm that gave Manhattan a purple sky filled with lightning contrasting against the buildings which made them look white was the highlight of the rooftop. I did enjoy the bamboo structure, but the rest of the night had been just too amazing.