Art Deco photo blast (by request)

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Exile on Pain Street

Last week I posted a few photos of the crown of the RCA Victor building on 51st and Lexington. The top of that building is one of my favorite art deco flourishes in all of Manhattan and it is little noticed by passers by. In the comments section, Pueblo Girl suggested I post a few pics of the interior. So here they be. All are clickable.

The building went up in 1931 and contains a wealth of art deco accents. Here’s the exterior at the corner of 51st.

It was deeded to GE before construction was complete and this beautiful clock was installed. It features two outstretched arms holding radio waves.

Also along the exterior are a series of fists clenching radio waves.

Here’s a few interior shots. The elevators all have inlaid wood.

Here’s one end of the lobby. Again, with the radio waves. Nice clock.

And here’s the other end.

This is probably the most elaborate mail box in history.

In the spring, I did a post featuring interior shots of the Chrysler Building—another lovely art deco building. They are here.

Public art that mocks my plight

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Exile on Pain Street

All art isn’t housed in stuffy old museums. New York is littered with public art installations.

There are two ways to get from the vile Port Authority to the Times Square subway station; you can either walk above ground down 42nd Street or you can take the underground walkway that connects the two. The tunnel is a dreary, Soviet-style passageway that’s all function and no form. It’s an avenue-long tunnel of concrete, white tile, steel I-beams and exposed florescent bulbs.

In an effort to cheer up the walk a bit, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has commissioned a series art installations (as they have in MANY subway stations throughout the city). When you walk eastward towards Seventh Avenue, as a multitude of commuters do every morning, this is the installation that greets you. It’s inspired by the classic Burma-Shave ads of the 40s where a series of sequential signs containing a word or two reveal a poem.

Remember: This is the first thing that harried commuters coming from the dark New Jersey suburbs see at 6:30 in the morning on our way to the salt mines.

I don’t know who to attribute this work to. There’s an accrediting placard on every piece of public art but I can’t find this one. On a good morning, this makes me laugh. Some mornings? Not so much.

Is the Kandinsky retrospective any good?

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Exile on Pain Street

How am I going to explain how great this exhibit is without sounding like a pretentious jerk? Art exhibit reviews almost always leave me cold. They’re awful things to read. Art is subjective and open to personal interpretation. Reading some “expert” from the Times spew his opinion strikes me as a waste of time.

Having said that, I have to be honest and report that the media is right about the Kandinsky show at the Guggenheim. It’s a blockbuster and it knocked me flat on my ass. Way better than the lame-ass Monet water lilies exhibit currently at MoMA. I walked in knowing just a little bit about Kandinsky and walked out a big fan. His work is far more eclectic than I thought it was.

I took two artists with me; Artiste Florenza and Sister #2. Both attended prestigious art institutions. Do you know what I did? I laid back a few steps and listened to the two of them discuss the work. It was an education. I came across this beauty and thought it was an interesting composition.

Then I heard Sister #2 remark, “That’s a nice profile.” I was standing right in front of the damn thing and never saw it! Always bring someone smarter than you.

Part of the exhibit is a healthy selection of works on paper that are just as strong as the works on canvas. It’s like two exhibits in one. I had no idea just how great this guy was.

It’s not a question of if I’ll return for another visit but, rather, how many times I can get there before it closes. If you’re in town between now and January 10th, you should make a point to go. It’s fantastic.

* * *

Take a look at these two Eurotrash visitors I found outside the museum. He’s wearing one of those expensive European pinstripe business suits (click to view). A few moments prior to this shot they were sucking face and slobbering over each other. Then, Pink Tie’s phone rang and he stopped to take a call. I’m no expert at reading body language, but I’d say she feels a bit put out by the coitus interruptus.

Here’s a link to view over two dozen works on exhibit.

Daughter in a Maelstrom

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Exile on Pain Street

On a summer day/evening, the best view in town is from the roof garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can look over the tree canopy of Central Park to the west, some of the most expensive real estate on the planet along 5th Avenue to the east and the Manhattan skyline to the south. It’s a pretty site.

As if that weren’t enough, every summer, the Met hosts a spectacular sculpture exhibit. Last year is was a set of playful sculptures by Jeff Koons.

I took daughter to the roof for this year’s exhibit, the appropriately named Maelstrom by Roxy Paine. It’s a series of polished metal tree branches that twist and snake over the expanse of the roof.

I wondered what the perception was for someone half my size. I watched her walk around the perimeter of the sculpture and then inside and it really did seem to consume her.

The exhibit runs through late November, so if you’re going to be in town or are just a subway ride away (Jason/Leah) it’s worth the trip. Just don’t go on Friday night. It’s packed with after-work office drones who just want to drink and hook up. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but it tends to spoil the experience. I’m not sure the Friday night crowd cares about the art so much. They seem distracted.

Here’s a very cool video of the installation.

words fail me, so take a look at these photos instead

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Exile on Pain Street

I wish I was enough of a wordsmith to describe how overwhelmed I was when I walked into the Park Avenue Armory to view Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto’s anthropodino, the installation currently running through June 14. If you’re reading this and you live in the area, you really owe it to yourself and to your kids (if you got ’em) to pay a visit. The New York Times called it magical and that’s the best way to describe it.

The Armory is starting a program of “big-room” installations. The Tate Modern in London has had a series of successful exhibits in the turbine hall that require a large open space. New York wants to get into the act and the only space in Manhattan big enough to accommodate artwork of this scope is the Park Avenue Armory. It’s not as sexy as the Tate Modern, but it’s functional.

Neto’s hard-to-describe exhibit uses yards of stretched, translucent Lycra to create forms, labyrinths and weird objects. To wit (clickable pics):

It’s both mounted on the floor and pours down from the ceiling.

Here’s the view as you walk into the beast.

The tunnels are filled with soft white, blue and gold light. The sacks hanging down contain spices—cumin, ginger and cloves—so the fragrances permeate the air.