Design = Life

I cannot believe that I am half way done with my say in NYC. I know going home will be difficult but I am looking forward to the possibilities the rest of summer brings and seeing my family again will be good. I have done quite a bit since I started my stay here and I though I might post a couple of photos that I have captured.

This is a panorama (not yet retouched) of DUMBO in Brooklyn. DUMBO which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass is (from what I saw of it) surprisingly more peaceful and quiet than some of the other areas of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Nikki and I were going to meet up with Justin and wanted to find a place to wait for him. We waited in a park by the water where we got a great view of Manhattan and both the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. Later we went to Grimaldi’s Pizzeria where we had some AMAZING coal oven pizza.

One thing that has really impressed me about this city is the diversity, not only its the people but also of its museums. Thus far I have visited 3 major museums (and some smaller ones as well). The first I visited was the Metropolitan Museum of Art….I thought this would be a good place to start being that it is a larger and very diverse collection. I went with my friend Justin who agreed that it was very easy to be overwhelmed by the size of the collection. That is definitely a 2 or 3 visit museum in order to completely see the collection. It was however enjoyable and the new Greek and Roman Gallery is very nicely done.

The next collection I visited was that of the Brooklyn Museum which I found surprisingly accessible as far as understanding the art within the framework of the entire collection. This is definitely a family museum. It was curated beautifully. Each piece of art was uncluttered by other items around it and illuminated and situated such that it by itself was art not merely some cultural artifact that one might group with other like items. This was even true in the art of Africa gallery, a type of art that seldom finds itself elevated above artifact to art if you choose to make that distinction. Also the Global Feminism exhibition which is on display now should not be missed.

Perhaps one of the reasons this gallery can afford to show artworks in this way is that its archives are open to the public. Anyone can open the door to them and see shelves upon shelves of art in a dimly lit room that makes you feel as though you are discovering something.

Most recently I visited the Guggenheim Museum, which is I think popular not only for its extraordinary collection but also for its architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The Shapes of Space exhibition which is on display now until September 5th is enlightening. Each artist in the exhibition chooses his or her own unique way of shaping space into the reality of his or her spectator. As I proceeded to the top of the museum I felt like I was also moving towards a greater enlightenment. Once I reached the top I looked over the side (despite my profound fear of heights) and it a beautiful view down, minus the knots in my stomach upon doing so. Any one who loves art or design will love this museum, if you hate art, my guess is, you will at least appreciate the experience.

I am hoping to visit either MoMA or the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum next weekend so hopefully I will have some more photos to post soon!

This entry was posted Monday, July 9th, 2007 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Etc, Thoughts. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.