NYC Day 21: In Which I Visit Robert Rauschenberg at MoMA

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Rauschenberg at the Museum of Modern Art
I returned to the Museum of Modern Art this afternoon, planning to catch up on a couple of major exhibitions that I have yet to immerse myself in, and was immediately assailed by thousands of other visitors who had decided to do the very same thing. Talk about crowded! It took me some time to remember that MoMA, like a number of other museums across the city, offer free entry to all-comers on Friday evenings -- and by gawd, they turned out in force.

I spent the bulk of my time examining the very extensive Robert Rauschenberg Among Friends exhibition. As the title implies, not only are visitors treated to a wide range of Rauschenberg's abstract art, but friends such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Susan Weil, and others are represented in the more than 250 works on show.

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Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations. Rauschenberg was both a painter and a sculptor and the Combines are a combination of both, but he also worked with photography, printmaking, papermaking, and performance. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1993. He became the recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts in 1995 in recognition of his more than 40 years of fruitful artmaking. [Source: Wikipedia...]

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Let me be perfectly frank with you, dear reader, abstract art is not at the top of my list of favorite art styles or genres, and I confess that more than once I have said the same things you have probably said when confronted with some abstract or modern art, "Even I could do that!" The fact that I haven't 'done that', I guess is the difference between myself and Robert Rauschenberg, and it most definitely is the reason that his art is hanging in the Museum of Modern Art (and in many other galleries and art museums around the world), and my art is not!

I would love to be able to explain the intricacies and raison d'etre of Rauschenberg's work, but that is way outside my area of expertise so I will have to leave it to you to do your own research on this area of art and the artists who practice it and who continue to push the boundaries of what art, all art, is.

It's a cop out on my part I know, but I will let Rauschenberg's art speak for itself (now there's a cliche if ever there was.)

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I will also refer you to Wikipedia and share a brief quote from that site on Abstract Art:

Abstract art uses a visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an attempt to reproduce an illusion of visible reality. The arts of cultures other than the European had become accessible and showed alternative ways of describing visual experience to the artist. By the end of the 19th century many artists felt a need to create a new kind of art which would encompass the fundamental changes taking place in technology, science and philosophy. The sources from which individual artists drew their theoretical arguments were diverse, and reflected the social and intellectual preoccupations in all areas of Western culture at that time. [Source: Wikipedia...]

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Sunday 9, July | Expenses $32.50 ($42.80)
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NYC Day 20: In Which I Go Gardening at New York Botanical Garden (sort of)

I was never much of a gardener. Even when I had my own home with what little passed for a suburban garden, I did the bare minimum to maintain what few flowers survived despite my indifference and neglect. Maybe the fact that I used to suffer (and occasionally still do), from severe bouts of hay fever had something to do with it, but now that I seem to have outgrown that annual debilitating reaction to pollens and other allergens, I still spend as little time as possible pottering in gardens.

So it was as much a surprise to me as it might be to those who know me, that today found me in the Bronx visiting the New York Botanical Garden. In four previous visits to New York I had never made it to either the Botanical Garden or to the Bronx Zoo. Today I was tempted to visit the zoo, but remembered that Wednesdays are 'pay-what-you-wish' days at the zoo, and it being Thursday today, I decided to leave that institution for another week.

"The New York Botanical Garden is a botanical garden and National Historic Landmark... The 250-acre (100 ha) site's verdant landscape supports over one million living plants in extensive collections. Each year over one million visitors visit the garden's remarkable diversity of tropical, temperate, and desert flora, as well as programming that ranges from exhibitions in the Haupt Conservatory to festivals on Daffodil Hill." [Source: Wikipedia]

While I freely admit that I was never much of a gardener, that does not mean that a well maintained plot of land does not interest me, and to my surprise I enjoyed my visit far more than I thought I would. It might have had something to do with escaping the mad rush of Manhattan's crowded noise filled streets. You can almost convince yourself that you are out in the country far from Midtown as you amble slowly along well kept paths, past towering sequoia's, and thousands of flowering plants, acres of manicured lawns, and clipped hedgerows.

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Come to think of it, you are far from Midtown, and you are in what little is left of once open countryside. However, the ever present hum of surrounding traffic, and the distant sound of car horns and the sirens of emergency service vehicles provides a constant reminder that the city is just 'out there' waiting to swallow you up when you leave the relative peace and quiet of the gardens.

As noted in the quote from Wikipedia, a regular schedule of exhibitions are programmed throughout the year at the Botanical Garden, and currently the exhibition of note is that of the American glass blowing artist/sculptor, Dale Chihuly. Simply titled, CHIHULY, the exhibition runs now through until October 29, 2017, and presents dozens of stunning creations that defy the imagination. That something as fragile as glass can be colored, heated, bent, twisted, and shaped into the myriad forms that Dale Chihuly manages to achieve, has to be seen to be believed.

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Numerous large sculptural works are placed throughout the grounds of the garden, and are waiting to be discovered as visitors walk around the huge site. Others are on display in the gallery's of the LuEsther T. Merton Library, while still more are placed carefully throughout the massive Enid A. Haupt Conservatory -- a wonderful architectural gem if ever there was one.

By the way, if you find the prospect of walking for hours around the 250-acre site daunting, fear not. The Botanical Garden has very thoughtfully provided people movers (or trams as they are called), that follow a long winding circuit around the grounds with stops at a number of key locations where visitors can alight or rejoin the trams As they circle the site. A pre-recorded audio commentary is played throughout the ride which draws attention to a range of trees and plants, landscape features of interest, and historical information about the gardens and their formation.

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As you would expect, there are daily tours that focus on different areas of interest to visitors, such as the Perennial Garden, Native Plant Garden, Thain Family Forest, a Bird Walk, Notable Trees, the Conservatory, and others. In addition, musical performances are also programmed over the summer months. I left the site just after 6:00pm, but if I had stayed on I could have enjoyed live music from performers that were setting up equipment on a temporary stage. The music was due to begin at 7:00pm and go through until 10:00pm, but after five hours or so on site, I was more than ready to call it a day.

There are two major dining options at the Botanical Garden; the Hudson Garden Grill is the more upmarket of the two, with waiters on staff to administer to your every need. The Pine Tree Cafe located by the main entrance is a far more casual affair, and I suspect a more economical option as well. There are also a number of very casual 'street food' style  dining options available. These are provided by the Burger Truck, and The Cantina, both of which operate from Tuesday to Sunday. Meanwhile the Taco Truck and the Conservatory Plaza Bar are advertised as operating on weekends only. However, I did see the Taco Truck setting up for service this evening near the stage before I left, so you never know. Also according to the weekly What's On sheet, since the last four dining options mentioned above are outdoor venues, they are open "Weather permitting."

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Oh, and most importantly, the restrooms were large, clean and well maintained. And no, I don't have photos of those. You wilI just have to take my word for it.

Finally, if I, an indifferent gardener, could find much to enjoy and appreciate at the New York Botanical Garden, I can only imagine that keen gardeners will feel they have found a little piece of heaven right there in the Bronx -- and who would have ever thought that? If you have the time and the interest, I have no hesitation recommending a visit.

IF YOU GO
2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx.
Open: Tuesday through Sunday
Hours: 10:00am - 6:00pm
Prices: Adult: $23; Senior: $20;
Phone: +1 718-817-8700
Online: www.nybg.org/

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Wednesday, July 6 | Expenses $78.00 ($102.90)

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NYC Day 19: In Which I Wander from one Museum to Another via Central Park

A bucolic Central Park vista (click images to view full size).

My list of things to do today included some free jazz music at the American Folk Art Museum, and more free music at the Rubin Museum of Art (part of their Spiral Music Series). In the end I missed both of them due to a very slow start to my day. Instead I elected to visit the Met Breuer again, but left my arrival so late that I barely got in 45 minutes of quality time at that address.

In fact, all I really got to do with spend some time with the Brazilian artist Lygia Pape, and her exhibition and wonderful Tteias installations as seen below. This work uses metallic thread woven in columns from floor to ceiling or wall to wall. Placed in a darkened room and dramatically lit, Tteia 1, C (as the work in this exhibition is called), is composed of golden thread that appear luminous and ethereal, like beams of sunlight entering a room. The photo does it do this huge installation justice so if you have a chance to see the work for yourselves, I urge you to do so.

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Tteia 1, C

Above: A series of four works called Book of Paths (and numbered 1-4)

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From the Breuer I decided to walk across the lower part of Central Park and slowly make my way towards Columbus Circle where I planned to get something to eat. One of the many things I love about New York City is the way the city has a way of undermining all your favorite perceptions about the city and its people. Personally I think you can blame Hollywood and the major television networks for an endless series of crimes shows that portray the city in a less than favorable light.

My experience however, reveals a city of (mostly) well maintained parks and gardens, some equipped with dog runs and almost all the larger ones equipped with playgrounds and water features for the little ones, or basketball courts for the older teens and young adults. The really large parks may have baseball or softball diamonds, and from what I have observed they are always well patronized and popular.

A walk through neighborhood streets often reveal overflowing flower-filled window boxes and sidewalk flowerbeds, a vibrant street life with food vendors ranging from mobile food vans to the smaller single operator stand selling ice cream, sliced fruits, knick-knacks and  knock-offs of more famous brand name products such as perfumes, sunglasses, handbags, watches and cheap jewelry, among many other items.

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Of course, the other side of this idyll is also plain to see: trash filled rubbish bins spilling their styrofoam containers, plastic cutlery, takeaway coffee containers, and plastic and glass soda bottles (most, if not all of which could be redeemed for the .5c deposit). The ever present wail of emergency service vehicles, the incessant blaring of car, bus, and truck horns, the rumble of the underground subway trains (or the 24-hour overhead roar of trains on the few remaining elevated lines in the outer boroughs, and on and on and on. Oh, and let's not forget the rodents and roaches, and the doggy-doo that one has to keep a constant look out for since many dog owners still refuse to 'Curb Your Dog', as the sidewalk signs urge.

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Above and below: The bedrock of Manhattan is super hard stone called Gneis, or Manhattan Schist. 

These outcroppings in Central Park give you a sense of what really lies beneath the city..  

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Having rambled across Central Park, and then finding myself in the vacinity of Columbus Circle, or more accurately in the vacinity of the Lincoln Center, imagine my surprise when I discovered that I was standing in front of the American Folk Art Museum. The jazz musicians were long gone, and once again I had around 45-minutes to check out the two major exhibitions taking place at the museum, but of course in I went anyway.

The two artists on show are men I have never heard of (a far more common occurrence than not). The Italian artist, Carlo Zinelli (1916-1974), is described by Wikipedia (www.en.wikipedia) as an "outsider artist who suffered from schizophrenia. The other artist on show, also now deceased, is Eugene Gabritschevsky (1893-1979), a Russian biologist by profession, and artist by sentiment. Obviously I did not have enough time to fully examine and appreciate the work of these two artists, but now that I have found my way to the museum, I will definitely return for a more leisurely look and write more then.

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Tuesday 5, July | Expenses $19.00 ($25.00)

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NOTE: My daily expenses do not take into account accommodation, transport, temporary phone account, or museum memberships since I am accounting for these monthly expenses at the end of each week. For the record these four line items add USD$28.45 or AUD$37.42 per day to my daily expenses. Maybe I should just include them in my daily account to avoid confusion. Maybe. I'll see how I feel at the end of this week.