The music of art

An afternoon with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra @ St Ann's Church in Brooklyn - a fabulous end to the week in New York. Caught up with Alex and Gordon after the performance - Alex plays cello in the BSO - we were treated to a performance of Rachmaninoff's Symphony #2 in E Minor ... and "Sojourn" by Eli Greenhoe - quite amazing for a young man who has not yet finished college. A real treat!

Textile art - stitched and tied

The MOMA offers so much to so many including this untitled piece by Lee Bontecou created in 1961. Created from canvas, black fabric rawhide and soot it is tied together with copper wire. Perhaps the ultimate expression of "found objects" the soiled canvas was originally from a conveyor belt thrown out from a laundry that operated under Bontecou's East Village apartment. She stretched the fabric across sections of steel and fastened the stretched pieces with the copper wire. The piece expresses Bontecou's desire to explore relationships within her own United States, to other countries and to other worlds and tried to glimpse fear, hope, ugliness, beauty and mystery that is in all of us and she says hangs over young people today. Made in 1961 at a time when the invasion of the Bay of Pigs by the US failed, the US committed its first troops  to Vietnam and construction of the Berlin wall commenced. It was a time of great anxiety ... in the US as well as other parts of the world. (Paraphrased from information provided at MOMA)

MOMA ... some favourite things

In no particular order - Picasso's with Van Gogh  .... with my absolute favourite experiences today were being able to see Mondrian's Broadway Boogie Woogie (finished just before he died)  and Whiteread's water tank (bottom picture). Rachel Whiteread's art, is about the spaces within - so this water tank is the "water" that would fill the tank rather than the tank per se ... it sits above the sculpture garden @ MOMA - just like every other tank in NYC on buildings of 6 or more levels in height.  Sensory overload - in that most exquisite sense.

Rubbing in New York

An old gate, just down from the apartment - in need of a good rub. Beautiful textures and shapes - on a gate in front of an "empty"block that no one seems to notice.  A tree, some grids and grates ... all "ordinary objects" and easy to overlook, but special mementos of this trip ... can't wait to iron them out tomorrow!

Subway inspiration

I am in love with subway mosaics - as I am sure so many people are- and hadn't realised until today that even within the same station, each number is created differently. Wanted to do some rubbings but it is too busy in the permanent flow of people to access a "quiet" spot ... and I'm not sure if I'd get arrested or not. The Times Square subway is peopled with travellers and mosaics of people travelling ... love them - and the way in which the tiles are shaded to give depth, create shadow and such a sense of movement along the platform. Made my way up to 86th Street after lunch and am heading off to do some urban, above ground rubbings ... while the weather remains perfect and the pavements and tree trunks are willing to give up their marks.

Machiavelli NYC

Went for a walk along Columbus Avenue this morning and came across Machiavelli NYC which is what happens when someone (Nathalie de La Fontaine) with a dream teams up with a blacksmith, a ceramicist, a textile artist, a master glass blower, a painter and woodworker - in short,  a group of outstanding artisans and creates a place for food, reflection and musical appreciation. We were a little too early for Vivaldi  and instead had a scrumptious breakfast of scrambled eggs / omelette's with pancetta and gorgeous leaf tea with lemon.  The drapes / curtains have been hand painted, while Marie Letellier has created each individual piece of dinner wear. Olivier Maranda is the blacksmith who created magical candle holders and furniture to recline in while international solo and chamber musician Thomas Osuga has been charged with presenting a wide range of music and the musicians. Think  Vienna, think Florence and combine it with New York. The musicians are able to share the sounds of their passions with whomever is present in the space - diners, brunchers,  wine drinkers - Machiavelli's has so much appeal and a terrific feel - just great ambience. And BTW - the food was terrific - can't wait to get back there andperhaps try the hand made pasta ...

Textiles @ The Met and Ancient Beads

Spent the morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York - looking at a number of textiles in different contexts from my usual experiences of them - textiles that are thousands of years old  - linen (left) used to wrap a body, about 2500BC, and fragments of linen (below) from the same era. Then some beads about the same vintage - and an ancient necklace also some thousands of years old and as beautiful as the day it was finally crafted. The faience necklace elements are made in molds then strung together after being attached to small ring beads. The beads include the shapes of palm fronds, lotus petals, dates, bunches of grapes and cornflowers. Minute and beautiful ..... took me back to Lisa Walton's online beading class except the beads I used then didn't quite have the same ancient appeal!