Six seasons of Gossip Girl and I've learned so much about New York and most importantly, I know that the steps of the Met ARE the status symbol of Constance Billard. Did I sit higher than Brian on the steps? Duh. No one sits higher than Queen B.. or Queen A in this case!
I made far too many Gossip Girl references while walking the streets. Brian didn't know what I was talking about half the time. And I caught myself googling, more than I should admit, "Where is the Empire Hotel?" "Does The Palace exist, gossip girl," "What street is the Humphrey loft?" "Did Chuck really wait on the top of the Empire State Building?" "Chuck and Blair's wedding location." Is my blog post title the season finale title? Yeah! To my credit, there were a few Home Alone references and googles... Sex and the City got some love as well. It's fun connecting the things you've seen with the things you are seeing. Yeah? Yeah!
Anyway, back to the trip... not my google search history. I think I'm on Saturday now... which was the coldest day of the trip. I can't tell you how cold and windy and cloudy it was! And then it started snowing!! While we were in the Guggenheim, we looked out to Central Park covered in snow.. it was incredibly beautiful. I was too terrified to pull out my phone and take a picture because they had about 497,504,567 guards to step in and tell you "NO PICTURES!!"
So we started the morning at a little breakfast place by our hotel.. and by little, I mean l.i.t.t.l.e. Maybe 10 people could fit. Kind of had a diner feel but was good, I love a bagel! We had to run back by the hotel to bundle up even more before heading out for the day.
First stop, The Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side. Again, the city pass was amazing... skip the line, grab an iPod and head to the top. Soooo.. here's where it gets interesting. Remember this is my personal blog and all the opinions are mine, so I can say whatever I want. Imagine getting off an elevator at a museum and you see this...
Could I paint those in the spare bedroom in my house? Could a toddler? This is art? WTF?! Brian and I kind of look at each other, look at the dates, look at each other... "do you get it?" "No, do you?" "Absolutely not." Nothing to read.. what is going on... glance downstairs...
All you see for at least 3-4 floors, dates on black, red and blue canvases. Time to put on our headphones! PS. I stole both of the two pictures above from google.. remember NO PICTURES in the Guggenheim. But geez was the building so cool... more on that later.
So we start to listen-- short version is he, the artist, On Kawara, started painting dates on canvas-- ranging in size and color. A cardboard box corresponds with each painting, sometimes it fits in it, and the box is lined with the front page of the newspaper from that date. The front page was also from whatever city he was in on the day he did the painting. If he started one and didn't finish it on the same day, it was destroyed. The three colors mean something but honestly I can't remember because it was like information overload. He would use the color from the paint and put a swatch so he knew what color he used that day, since he hand mixed them... then he would put a dot on a giant calendar to say what day he painted. He'd log everything... I mean, no offence to Mr. Kawara but this is like OCD at it's peak.. possibly over the peak and through the woods. This was bizarre.. but it's not the end. I could never include everything this man did in one post.
So you move down the floors.. there is a series of "I met." This is where he would log every single person he met that day. "I went" would do exactly what it sounds like, log where he went. "I Got Up" is well.. what it sounds like, again. A postcard he sent to two people each day with this... "I GOT UP AT 8:55AM." No, I'm not kidding. It was a postcard of the city he was in... every single day. Followed by telegrams to friends every few days that read... "I AM STILL ALIVE." WHAT?! WHY?! I can't... This man didn't live in the 1800s... this was like 1960 to present day. He just died a year before the exhibit opened. I told Brian that from now on, no texts to family. Send an email once a week... "I am still alive." Nothing else, no details, I am still alive.
I mean, at the end of the day it was a cool exhibit.. thank goodness for the audio guide or I would still be lost and confused and would probably have skipped it all.. not really but maybe. The side exhibits were really cool. They had a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit in the basement. lots of cool works we have learned about over the years.. some Kandinsky, Picasso, Cezanne... it was really neat and again, the building was awesome!
We left the Guggenheim and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and OMG... it's huge!! I don't know that I've ever been so exhausted at the end of a day, in my life! Such a beautiful museum, everything was amazing... I snapped this picture when we first walked in...
We saw pieces that I have loved my entire life. I love Monet and have been lucky enough to see his works in Paris, DC, Chicago, NY... I love, love Monet! And I thank Southside Elementary for this love :)
Another favorite by van Gogh
Seurat, another Southside love. I have recreated this one... in 3rd grade.
Audio files on one of Brian's favorites...
We stayed in the Met for around 6 hours and could have stayed longer if we had better feet. We were hurting! I blame the hard, beautiful marble floors throughout the building for a lot of the pain. There were so many people! Gracious, I loved this museum! We could go back and spend another day or two I'm sure.
Selfie with bae and the Met
We walked by Central Park on our way to the metro.. remember how much pain I mentioned that our feet were in? Yeah, we watched a beautiful sunset and then decided... maybe we'll just walk through it a little right now on our way to our metro stop. A little bit turned in to walking most of the park. So worth it. I can suffer through foot pain when the scenery is that beautiful. How amazing! A park that large and beautiful in the middle of the city... I love it!! We even found the spot where (SPOILER ALERT) Chuck and Blair got married and the boathouse where Big and Carrie fell in the water. Such an educational walk.
So the park was amazing, the Met was amazing, the Guggenheim was amazing and the snow was beautiful... perfect day! We stopped on our way home to buy insoles, a case of beer and a slice of pizza.. then called it a night!
I'll be back soon with the Sunday recap.. can't wait? I know.
You know you love me, XOXO. See what I did there? Another GG reference :)
Visit the best museum which is committed to innovation, preserves both modern and Contemporary Art i.e. guggenheim hours. Check out Guggenheim Hours earlier and get to see the publications, digital platforms, exhibitions by being at right time. Once, have a look at the Guggenheim Holiday Hours and plan your trip. Come to know Opening and Closing Timings of Art Museum Guggenheim prevailing on this page.
ReplyDelete