New York City-Art & Architecture

10 days. 240 hours. Uptown, downtown, all around the town. NYC is still, very much, a city of neighborhoods. It’s a city that invites you to explore as much as you can on foot or by subway (the fastest way to get around). A Metro card with unlimited rides on trains or buses for one week will set you back only $30.00, not as cheap as it used to be, but still a bargain compared to taxi cabs.

Instead of exploring NYC in one blog, I will write several (3), each one focusing on a different aspect of my recent trip.

Art is everywhere. From kitsch in store windows and graffiti,

20140926_192047(0) copy IMG_5150 copy

to this display by artist Korakrit Arunanondaci. “My Trip to the White Temple” is like a lacy cut out with a video in the center which changed as you watched and reflected the traffic passing by. I could have walked right by without noticing. It was magical.

20140929_132822 copyThere is art on the High Line, but as I looked down at the apartment buildings, this sculpture by Charlie Hewitt caught my eye.

IMG_5277 Charlie Hewitt copy

The architecture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is noteworthy and so is the art inside. There is often a temporary exhibit on the rooftop garden. Besides the exhibit, the views of the city above the treetops in Central Park are spectacular. The current site-specific installation is “Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout” by Dan Graham with Gunther Vogt, a Swiss landscape architect. Steel curves hold panels of two-way mirrored glass. The garden maze of reflections was fun for adults (mostly taking selfies) and kids running in and out.

IMG_5080 Met. Museum of Art copyIMG_5090 copyIMG_5093 copyIMG_5096 copy

NYC always feels like a construction zone. Old coming down, new going up. Different times, different styles.

IMG_5143 copyIMG_5144 copyIMG_5147 copy20141001_172221 copyIMG_5127 copyIMG_5215 copyIMG_5103 copy

At the risk of being labeled “tourist” (which I am), I always look up (when not looking down). Often, several architectural styles bump up against each other like these along the High Line. There is one block in mid-town where I counted six different styles next to each other.

IMG_5272 High Line 3 styles copyIMG_5118 copy copy

Patterns inside and outside are there for the taking. Greenwich Village, with its narrow streets and old buildings (now commanding sky-high rents) still feels like a “village.” It’s that NYC “neighborhood” thing. A quick subway ride to Christopher St. puts you right there. At its heart is Washington Square Park with its distinctive arch.

20141001_172417 copy

IMG_5100 Apple Store copyIMG_5260 Washington Sq Park copy

The area around the 9/11 Memorial is still under construction, but the Freedom Tower is finished and is reflected in the nearby building.

IMG_5219 Freedom Tower NYC copy

So much to see, so little time.

IMG_5297 copy

Blog #2 – Food & Fashion, coming soon!

3 thoughts on “New York City-Art & Architecture

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *