Art Archives - Page 11 of 19

Manhattan Finale: Frick & More

June 2, 2019June 2, 2019 JWF Leave a comment

FASCINATING FRICK
We made two visits to the Frick Collection and highly recommend two current exhibits. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed. On our first visit, we discovered that Wednesday afternoons beginning at 2:00 pm, it’s pay what you wish, and the museum was packed. We took a brief tour around some of the Moroni exhibit and decided to return the next day in the morning.
Giovanni Battista Moroni is a lesser known Renaissance painter noted for his portraits of mostly wealthy and high-placed individuals. This is the first major exhibit of his work in the U.S. These people of means have great facial expressions, and he made wonderful use of shades of red and pink in their clothing with very finely detailed jewelry and ornamentation. There is one portrait of a tailor.

Elective Affinities: Edmund de Waal at the Frick Collection.
Mr de Waal is a ceramist whose favorite medium is porcelain, but he is also attracted to working with steel and gold for his art. A longtime lover of the Frick, he has created a series of small sculptures in vitrines that are placed in front of specific paintings. Some of the works are white porcelain while others incorporate several shapes and thicknesses of black or gray steel. There is a short film showing the artist in his London studio and talking about what he’s trying to achieve in terms of light and form. I found it instructive to see the film before touring his work in the galleries. This exhibit runs into November, the first one closes soon.

What made our visit even more interesting was that a breakfast for press had just ended and I chatted very briefly with two of these individuals about the exhibit. It turns out we were present on opening day for de Waal. For those who don’t know it, you might want to check out his fascinating memoir cum history entitled, The Hare with Amber Eyes. I found it fascinating.

CLASSY DINER
We had lunch at Three Guys on Madison, and we quickly decided it was the most pleasant, brightest and cleanest diner we’d eaten at. It’s a welcoming space with a mix of booths and tables and can easily accommodate groups. Several families with small children were in evidence and it’s obviously family friendly. Their menu is extensive with lots of breakfast fare, but also plenty of sandwiches, salads, and burgers.

We opted for a Reuben with fries and the tuna salad platter which came with a mound of cole slaw and some sliced tomatoes and cucumber and a hard boiled egg. The platter was a large portion (I didn’t finish it), but very good. The diner is located across the street from Met Breuer so would be a good destination after visiting their exhibits.

FABULOUS THEATER

We were able to squeeze in seeing Kiss Me Kate and are so glad we did. What a fun, lively, energetic, performance it was! Even with the understudy playing the lead role of Fred Graham/Petruchio, it was superb. Growing up, I was exposed to the LP record version of a much earlier performance which my folks had seen on Broadway in the 1940’s. They played this record often, and consequently, I was familiar with the songs and knew most of the words. The level of fitness and acrobatic skill required for the dancing, especially by Lois Lane and Bill Calhoun, was awe-inspiring. There was some additional stage business and asides which made this a more contemporary “Kate.” The song, “Tom, Dick or Harry” will never again be the same. (~JWFarrington)

PRE-THEATER DINING

Nocello on W. 55, a block from the Roundabout Theatre, was an ideal place for an early dinner. It appeared to have a regular clientele, even one family group, and not just tourists. We had the nicest corner table on the lower level and were especially pleased with the fried artichokes and the chicken cutlet encrusted with Parmesan in a bit of lemon white wine broth.

The Caesar salad was an acceptable rendition and the veal saltimbocca provided a slightly different variation on that classic. The Chief Penguin sampled the nocello liqueur (made from walnuts and hazelnuts) and it was lovely, deeply smooth with a hint of sweetness. The small plate of mini biscotti was just right. We will remember this restaurant for another pre-theater meal.

Note: All contents and photos ©JWFarrington.

Manhattan Museums: Art & More

May 19, 2019May 19, 2019 JWF Leave a comment

Whitney Museum of American Art

An every two year occurrence, the Whitney Biennial is designed to showcase trends in art and both emerging and established artists working in a variety of genres. Many of the artists in this year’s biennial are under 40 and their work gets at social, political and racial issues in both understated and more direct ways. I went expecting to find most of it too strange or ugly or outrageous for my taste, and some of it was not aesthetically pleasing—at least not to me. But when I looked over the photos I took, I found that there were more pieces I liked than I thought. What follows is a sampling of some of what we saw.

Detail, “A Lesson in Longing,” 2019 by Jennifer Packer

Society of Illustrators/Museum of Illustration

The Chief Penguin and I like to explore small museums and historic homes. The Museum of Illustration, home to the Society of Illustrators, is just such a place, a gem of colorful artwork that transitioned from being a private club to a tiny museum with a most attractive bar and café on its upper floor. Located on E. 65Street, it sponsors changing exhibits, invited talks and workshops, and an annual student competition along with displaying works from its permanent collection.

The special exhibit was “Masters of the Fantastic,” an array of sci fi and fantasy illustrations, along with a short film about the making of the 1950’s horror film, “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” The range of artistic styles was impressive and I enjoyed it more than I expected. Definitely a museum to re-visit with the perfect spot for a simple lunch!

Roosevelt House

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt lived in a house on E. 65 Street. Today that house, which FDR’s mother bought for them (she lived in the other half), belongs to Hunter College and is home to a public policy institute. But the house is also open to the public for free. Here, you can read about Eleanor’s connections to the college and her involvement with its students. Also on display is a set of personal letters Franklin wrote to his cousin Daisy Suckley. They enjoyed a warm friendship, and she frequently visited him in Warm Springs, Georgia. There are also public lectures such as an upcoming one by Brenda Wineapple about the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

Note: Photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is of a work by Japanese fantasy artist, Kuniko Craft.

Manhattan: The Jewish Museum

May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 JWF 1 Comment

COHEN AND THE JEWISH MUSEUM

The unseasonably cold weather and days of rain have kept us inside and a bit lazy. More time for reading and the occasional museum. Last week we paid a visit to the Jewish Museum especially for the Leonard Cohen exhibit, “A Crack in Everything,” which an acquaintance recommended.

If you’re my generation, then mention of Cohen’s name immediately brings to mind his song, “Suzanne,” which was popular in my college years. Cohen died in 2016, and the exhibit, a collection of videos, recordings, and film clips, is both a memorial and a testament to his work. Individuals have collected his music and writings in tributes, and in a room of beanbags with bands of color cycling on the walls, you can flop down and listen to more than twenty of his songs. I had not appreciated how wide ranging and extensive Cohen’s oeuvre was and was impressed with what was on display.

While there we also wandered into the permanent collection where there are both traditional self-portraits as well as more jarring contemporary works.

One example is the rainbow flag of gay pride with a Star of David embedded in it by Ross Bleckner; another is William Anastasi’s “jew” off center on a white canvas; and yet another is “Venus Pareve,” a colorful series of small sculpture.

I also liked Louis Ribak’s “Self Portrait” from 1924.

DINING FIND

Sel et Poivre

This Upper East Side eatery has the feel of a comfortable shoe and seems to appeal to a neighborhood crowd. We were early for our reservation and it was already nearly full of diners. Wait staff are all male of a certain age (not young) and the greeting was pleasantly brisk. The 3-course prix fixe menu was reasonable at $34.95 with a nice selection of choices. The Chief Penguin ordered the green bean salad to start (best he’d ever had!) and then the steak frites. I tried the mesclun salad with a mustard vinaigrette (tangy in a good way) and the roasted chicken with mashed potatoes. Both entrees were very good and the desserts, profiteroles and raspberry sorbet, also. We liked the overall ambience and will definitely go back.

Note: All photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is “Self-Portrait” by Anna Walinska (1928).

Manhattan Musing: Campy

May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 JWF Leave a comment

Camp: Notes on Fashion

This year’s Fashion Institute exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is all about camp from the early days of dandyish gay men to its adoption by women in outlandish and outrageous gowns and shoes.

There’s low camp and high camp and camp that is somewhat subtle and that that is deliberate. This exhibit, with its rosy pink halls and its black gallery with mannequins in colorful light boxes, is exuberant, fun, and even silly. Everyone should find something to enjoy including in the background a recording of Judy Garland singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”