Category: Art

Manhattan Notes: Dining et al

JWF Leave a comment

UNEXPECTED EXHIBIT

The exhibit was titled, “Los Alamos” and mentioned to us by a good friend.  She has visited Los Alamos a number of times and was interested, but couldn’t get to the museum before the exhibit closed.  We were also interested and so went to the Metropolitan Museum  to see it.  It’s an exhibit of photos by American photographer William Eggleston.  

Eggleston was an early pioneer in the use of dye transfer photography with saturated intense colors, and this collection of his work is a recent gift to the museum.  But, although he named the collection, “Los Alamos,” it has nothing to do with that site.  Rather it is photos taken in the south and southwest, Memphis, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Georgia, in 1965-68 and from 1971-74.  They are a mix of stark urban landscapes and portraits of careworn individuals.  These galleries evoke a different era, but not Los Alamos.  While in the museum, we took a gander at some other art, hard not to, such as this Klimt of a 9-year old girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 

DINING DELIGHTS

Bistro Vendome

We like this comfortable French restaurant so much, we’ve dined there three times.  Our most recent meal began with oven-roasted bone marrow, not a dish we’d normally order.  But the maître d’ was so persuasive (his French accent and charm didn’t hurt) about how delicious and delectable it was that the Chief Penguin surrendered.  Said marrow was presented on a bed of wilted greens with a piece of toast on the side and for tools, a tiny fork and spoon. The idea was to scrape a bit of the marrow onto a bit of toast.  It was actually quite good!  

Following that starter, I sampled the grilled large shrimp served with a spinach flan on a puddle of lobster sauce.  The shrimp were excellent and the sauce rich while the flan would have benefited from a tad more nutmeg.  The C.P. indulged in hanger steak with fries and a tangle of arugula. The steak was tender and tasty, the fried the perfect thickness and crispness.  A lovely meal!

El Porron

This Spanish tapas restaurant has become another favorite.  It’s an attractive space and the staff are always most welcoming.  You can order full size entrees, but we’ve stuck to the tapas and been sated and satisfied.  The Serrano ham is lovely, the white asparagus a treat, the sea scallop treatment something different, and the patatas bravas (spicy potatoes) a must for the Chief Penguin.

Imli Urban Indian Food

If you have vegetarian tendencies or vegetarian friends, this contemporary space, which never seems to be crowded, is a great find.  We went on our own and then again with visiting family.  The samosas are some of the best I’ve ever had (the right ratio of flaky dough to filling), the saag paneer (spinach and that Indian cheese) silky and tasty, the potato stuffed peppers spicy, and the chicken curry, comfort food at its most soothing.   Lots of choices on this menu from small plate tapas to entrees.

EJ’s Luncheonette

This is a 1940’s style diner on the Upper East Side.  Formica tables, booths, and classic posters on the wall.  Service is friendly and there are daily blackboard specials like the meatloaf sandwich that the C.P. dug into!  

It came with truffle fries, very au courant, while my open face tuna melt included tomato slices; smothered with melted cheddar, it brought back memories of tuna melts of yore.  I think this restaurant rivals the Lenox Hill Grill and I’d be happy to return!

Bar Room at The Modern

For elegant dining and special occasions, The Modern offers exquisite cuisine.  You can dine in the restaurant proper, but we have usually opted for the Bar Room.  Both are pricy, but the restaurant is pricier.  The Bar Room is so popular, it is always full, and I have to admit, very loud at night.  There is an actual marble bar, and then bar seating adjacent to it which generates some of the buzz, but the floor is bare, the surfaces hard, and there is no fabric to dampen voices.

However, the food is marvelous!  We came this time for a belated birthday celebration and re-appreciated the quality. The lobster en croute with spinach and the chicken with foie gras tortellini were both delectable as was a starter of fennel and smoked salmon whimsically topped with chips.

ON THE SMALL SCREEN

Striking Out (Acorn)

We binge watched this Irish legal series.  Tara Rafferty leaves the Dunbar law firm after she finds Eric Dunbar, her fiancé, in a compromising situation, and strikes out on her own.  Her first office is the back area of a coffee shop.  When that becomes untenable, she shares office space with George, a brusque, opinionated female lawyer.  Although not her specialty, Tara takes up family law and finds herself in court, often opposing one of her former colleagues.

Figuring in the series are her mother, a former legal secretary; her father a judge; Ray, a petty criminal turned office manager for Tara; Richard Dunbar, Eric’s father and head of the firm, and Meg, a private investigator who doesn’t hesitate to work one side against the other.  Set in Dublin, it’s an absorbing look at the law on the other side of the Atlantic, complete with romantic entanglements.  Amy Huberman, who plays Tara, is likable and tougher than one might first think.  There are only two seasons thus far and Season 2 ends with a cliffhanger during Tara’s good friend Vincent’s big corruption case.  We want more!

 Note:  All photos by JWFarrington.  Header photo is Medallion quilt (1960) by Loretta Pettway in the Metropolitan Museum.

 

Manhattan Viewing

JWF 3 Comments

This blog post is all about seeing, and in Manhattan, there is so much to see–scenes of nature and water, famous art works, fabulous live theater, and even the occasional television program.   We had it all this week!

LIVE THEATER

Three Tall Women by Edward Albee (on Broadway)

Having the opportunity to see Glenda Jackson live on stage would have been reason enough to see this play.  I loved her performances in Sunday, Bloody Sunday, and as Elizabeth I in that early Masterpiece Theatre offering.  She then left the theater world for more than 20 years to serve in Parliament, only recently returning first to play King Lear (she always was an audacious actor) and then this role.

Jackson here is a crotchety, difficult, physically frail 91-year-old woman with a fulltime caregiver and a young lawyer.  These three women spar and verbally joust as A, the old woman, relives memories of her past.  Later we see that the three are the same woman at 26, 52, and 90+ years of age and, we hear how their experiences and their take on life shape what they become at each stage.  

It’s a powerful play about the ideals of youth, the disappointments along the way, marriage and infidelity, anger and bitterness, and the ravages of time and old age.  And it’s a superb production with a fabulous cast—Laurie Metcalf, of recent fame for her role as the mother in the film Lady Bird, and Alison Pill, a talented newcomer (to me)—join the inimitable and indomitable Glenda Jackson.  On a side note, I loved their purple and mauve dresses in the final scenes!

RETURN MUSEUM VISIT

It’s been some years since we last visited the Frick Collection and I’d forgotten how lovely an experience it is!  We began this visit by watching two videos, one on the museum’s collection of enamels (mildly interesting unless this is “your thing”), and the other, an introductory video about Henry Clay Frick, the man, and how he came to build this grand and glorious mansion.  It’s excellent and sets the stage nicely for viewing the art.

One room was built as a gallery and at 96 feet long and thirty-some feet wide, it’s an impressive space filled with oversize paintings and highly decorated furnishings.  In his collecting, Frick favored portraits and landscapes and there are several Turners and a number of Gainsboroughs, as well as works by Holbein, Van Dyke and Rembrandt.  He liked to pair paintings, individual portraits of a husband and wife either side by side or flanking another work or a fireplace. One example is the pairing by a fireplace of arch enemies Sir Thomas More and Oliver Cromwell, both painted by Holbein.

The soft green dining room  where Frick regularly hosted dinners for 26 (all men) is also pleasing, as is the room created solely for the purpose of displaying the 18thcentury Fragonard murals.

Except for in the Garden Court, no photography is allowed.  This enclosed space is serene and beautiful with marble benches and a fountain.  Perfect for when you need a break from all the marvelous art.

SMALL SCREEN

Unforgotten (Masterpiece Mystery).

This British detective series is thoughtful and not flashy.  Detective Chief Inspector Cassie Stuart and her team are tasked with determining the circumstances of death surrounding individuals whose bodies have been found unidentified and often forgotten.  Frequently, the death has occurred decades ago.  Cassie and Sunny (Sanjeev Bhaskar), her detective partner, must unearth family history, trace the individual’s travels and follow up in person with anyone and everyone with whom he might have been associated. If the death is suspicious, and indeed, they always are, then charges may be brought. 

Nicola Walker, the star, will be familiar to viewers of Last Tango in Halifax  while co-star Bhaskar was in Indian Summers.  Here Walker is the guv and the one with the responsibility for bringing a case to closure.  This is a series full of patient and methodical tracking and questioning as it delves into the psyches of both the deceased and his family.  I found it fascinating with the last episode extremely sensitive in its portrayal of the life-changing and lasting damage from sexual abuse.

Note:  Header photo view from Central Park and Garden Court photo ©JWFarrington.  Women photo from playbill.com and Unforgotten image from pbs.org.

Big Apple: Film & Art

JWF 1 Comment

Of the many pleasures of being in New York, we love to gorge on new films and explore the diversity of art on exhibit.  We saw two excellent films this week and joined the throngs at the Met for “Heavenly Bodies.”

GREAT CINEMA

RBG

A superb film. Although diminutive in stature and soft of voice, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a force to be reckoned with, and somewhat strangely, has become an icon for our time, “Notorious RBG”.  The film is both a salute to her accomplishments related to equality for women, and a history lesson for anyone who didn’t live through the 70’s when she consistently won the cases she argued before the Supreme Court.

Her spouse Marty, a most supportive man and “liberated” for his time; several of of her former law clerks; her son James and daughter Jane; and others such as Nina Totenberg of NPR; offer personal commentary on Ginsburg’s life and her character.  She is not a fan of small talk and is in love with the law.  After her first bout with cancer, she hired a personal trainer and regularly works out.  Driven and determined, she is a magnificent woman who has achieved much.  May she continue to serve on the court for many more years—at least six!

Disobedience

A quiet film of religion and re-ignited passion.  Lesbian Ronit left her conservative Jewish sect in London for a career in New York as a photographer.  She returns to London for the funeral of her rabbi father, but no one really expects her to dare to come back.  She is reunited with childhood friends, Dovid, a rabbi, and Esti, a teacher now married to Dovid, and invited to stay at their home.  Esti seems strangely distant and unwelcoming initially, but eventually the buried passion and love between the two women erupts.

Theirs is a strict sect with proscribed roles for men, but particularly for women, and Dovid and Esti each struggle with the disruption Ronit brings into their lives.  Shot in dimly lit interiors with lots of grays and muted colors, this is a sensitive and compassionate portrayal of a conflict between religious teachings and individual choice.

AT THE MUSEUM  

“Heavenly Bodies:  Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” at the Metropolitan Museum

I am not a Catholic as are, or were, most of the designers creating costumes for this gala exhibit.  And I probably don’t have quite the level of appreciation of the robes and mitres on loan from The Vatican as a Catholic would, but I was more impressed, awed, and delighted with this exhibit than I expected to be.  We went to the Met on 5thAvenue, but have not gone up to The Cloisters for the remainder of the exhibit.

 

Overall, the exhibit combines high fashion, sumptuous fabrics and beading, with the mitres, copes and other garment items worn by popes and cardinals.  The contemporary gowns, along with a range of elegant black dresses showing the influence of the nun’s habit on fashion, are displayed in the Byzantine hall. 

Downstairs in the Anna Wintour Costume Institute, are the vestments on loan from The Vatican.  The Catholic clergy were not restrained in their garb—at least not until the present pope—and there is elaborate embroidery, gold thread, and many instances of amethysts and other jewels affixed to mitres and robes.  Photography was not permitted  downstairs.

This is a stunning exhibit and deserves attention.  It runs into early October.

Note:  Cover image of Justice Ginsburg is an AP photo from motherjones.com; all other photos by JWFarrington.

Around Manhattan: Sculpture & Food

JWF Leave a comment

HUMAN BODY SCULPTED

Like Life: Sculpture, Color and the Body. 

This exhibit at Met Breuer of people from about 1300 to the present takes up two floors of the museum. Classical sculpture of human figures was done in marble, almost always white.  This exhibit explores examples of white sculpture, but also instances of tinted figures and some contemporary works such as the black house painter by American sculptor Duane Hanson.  The second half of the exhibit on the 3rdfloor is more challenging, and I would add, “viewer discretion advised.” It includes bodies in coffins, several crucifixion works, and other works that are bizarre or macabre. It’s both fascinating and occasionally creepy.

DINING FINDS

We are staying in another neighborhood new to us near the Queensboro Bridge and are exploring dining options in the surrounding blocks.  

Tiella—This Italian eatery is small and cozy with a pleasing choice of dishes.  A standout entree was the orata served under layers of wafer thin slices of potato and sautéed spinach flavored with lemon and thyme.

Under the Bridge—A tiny Greek place that quickly becomes loud and boisterous.  We were warmly welcomed with a smile and a big hello and then proceeded to order a range of small plates instead of entrees.  The shrimps in an ouzo laced thick tomato sauce were exceptional, and the grilled halloumi satisfying, while the special zucchini fritters and lemon potatoes rounded out the plate.  Tables are close together so you can easily check out your neighbor’s fare!

Rosa Mexicano—This is part of a chain, but the food seems to be genuine Mexican fare—nothing gloppy or sloppy!  The guacamole is made tableside to your degree of heat and the margaritas are large and potent.   We sampled a quesadilla and some chicken flautas.

Bistro Vendome.  Charming French restaurant with an upper level terrace that was perfect for a spring evening.  We loved the food—duck confit and broiled branzino with fennel and red peppers, preceded by an artichoke salad and a special “cocktail’ of avocado mousse topped with crab meat and mini tomato bits.  Service could have been more attentive than it was.  

READING AND VIEWING

Howards End by E. M. Forster. 

Prompted by my friend Patricia some months ago, I finally got around to re-reading Forster’s novel. I procrastinated until I read that a new version was to be shown on the Starz network.  Despite Forster’s many authorial comments and frequent philosophizing, I enjoyed it.  It questions to what extent we are individually or collectively responsible for the wellbeing and fate of those less fortunate than we.

A novel about social class, it brings into conflict, or at least tension, the arty Schlegel sisters and brother with lower class clerk Leonard Bast.  Add in business tycoon, Henry Wilcox and his family, and you have another set of views based on profit, rationality, and indifference to others.  Margaret Schlegel is the focal point.  She is smart and educated, and has provided a home and stability for her flighty sister and much younger brother after the death of their remaining parent.  Both she and Helen interact with the Wilcoxes, but Margaret’s relations will have a lasting impact.  The novel was original published in 1910.

The BBC production on Starz is in four parts and is very faithful to the book.  Unlike the wonderful film with Emma Thompson, the pacing is more measured and there is more time for small details and character development.

RECENT BOOKS

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova.

Neuroscientist turned author, Genova writes novels that focus on how an individual or a family deals with some tragic illness.  Still Alice, her best-known novel, was about an accomplished professor who was afflicted with early onset Alzheimer’s. It was made into a popular movie of the same title.  Genova then wrote about Huntington’s disease and this latest novel takes up the cause of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease as it’s commonly called.  Stephen Hawking lived more than 30 years with ALS, but he was an exceptional case.

Richard, a world-renowned concert pianist, develops ALS when he’s 45.  He is divorced from Karina, also a talented pianist who put her career aside for him, and father to a college-age daughter named Grace.  As his ALS progresses and it becomes clear that he can no longer stay in his own apartment, Karina takes him in.  The novel reads at times like a documentary or a medical treatise on the ravages of this horrible disease, with the fictional story of Richard and Karina’s tumultuous and bitter relationship an afterthought. I wouldn’t call it a totally successful novel, but as a guide to learning about ALS, it is comprehensive.

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy.

A staff writer for The New Yorker for the past decade, Levy gives us a memoir of her atypical upbringing and her rough ride through her 20’s and 30’s.  She seeks adventure, travels to exotic locales for work, and, after a mad party-fueled period, marries Lucy, her lover and mentor who turns out to be an alcoholic.  Levy’s account is bold, brash, and very frank.

I have to admit I didn’t particularly like the book.  At times it was too raw, too emotional, and, to me, too self-indulgent.  But it was named a best book of the year by a number of publications including Vogue, Time, The Guardian, and Library Journal, so I guess I’m in the minority.  I also learned after finishing it (I did read it to the end) that my son had worked with her and likes her.

 Notes:  Header photo is Donatello’s Nicollo da Uzzano. All photos by JWFarrington.