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The Empire State Building as seen from the McCarren Park running track.
I feel like we’re in the beautiful autumn days that everyone idolizes in New York. Even the scraggly trees on the medians by the BQE are turning gorgeous shades of red and yellow. I just got back from playing some freestyle bocce ball in Prospect Park where the colors were stunning. So are those in McCarren Park as shown in the image above, although I don’t notice them as much while wheezing around the running track. My goal is to be able to run a mile by the end of the year. I think this is reasonable, even if my legs do not.
Installation at the amazing Dan Flavin exhibit at the David Zwirner gallery.
Last Wednesday I saw the fantastically entertaining John Hodgman, a writer/actor/famous minor television personality that you’ve probably heard or seen on This American Life, The Daily Show, or all those Mac commercials. I understand there was a rather important “bases-ball” game that night, although Hodgman kept us updated on the score and how many ravens had been slaughtered and how many tunnels dug. The Empire Stating Building has been lit in blue and white ever since that grand bases-ball game. Hodgman’s book reading at Barnes & Noble was focused around his More Information Than You Require book and I enjoyed seeing his self-serious humor in action and liberal use of nerd references, as well as his classy three-piece corduroy suit.
Blue lights at the Dan Flavin exhibit.
Thursday is always a big night for art in New York, no matter the week. This week Elizabeth and I went to an opening at the FIAF gallery for an exhibit of French monographs. After indulging in Ricard and wine, we went to the David Zwirner gallery and saw their current Dan Flavin exhibit. It is the best exhibit I’ve seen in New York so far and I was impressed with how massive the gallery space was and how well they had adapted it to Flavin’s art.
Garage installation at the Dan Flavin exhibit.
I’d never been able to get so close to Flavin’s minimalist fluorescent light installations before. Even though it’s been 13 years since his death, Flavin’s work still seems very fresh. I guess the light sculptures alter whatever space they are in, and the colors and dispersions of the light are really the art and keep it from getting static.
Donkey dances with a fairy in the Moschino window display on 14th.
After the Dan Flavin exhibit, we walked on the Highline to 14th street. The Highline use to be a an elevated freight railroad, but now it is a park. On the way to the subway, we passed this whimsical window display at the Moschino store. I wish I had dreams like that.
Fox marionette in the Moschino window display. Maybe I should get one of these and pretend I have a dog.
Friday night I went to the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg, where you get to drink among the brewing equipment. As much as Williamsburg sometimes irritates me by being like a haven for what John Hodgman would call jocks posing as nerds, I do love its bars and coffee shops.
Painting of Versailles at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
On Saturday, we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art before watching that horrendous OU football game. I was with a friend who had never been to the Met before, so we hit the usual highlights, and saw this gorgeous panoramic painting of Versailles that I had never seen. I guess I usually don’t make it very deep into the decorative arts section. The 165 foot circular painting was created in the early 1800s by John Vanderlyn, who apparently spent years traveling around with it and exhibiting it while trying to avoid destitution. Sadly, Vanderlyn faded into an obscurity that seemed pretty permanent at his death and through the years after, but the installation of this painting at the Met in 1956 helped him to get some art history recognition.
Tonight I’m stalking the internet for apartments. I thought that applying for jobs in New York was the most demoralizing and soul-sucking activity, but that was before I started to look for apartments. Doing both at the same time makes me feel like I’m climbing up a very high mountain without oxygen. And to steal a bit from Wayne Coyne’s recent interview in Spin, I don’t know if the mountain is going to turn out to be a volcano and I’ll fall in and be incinerated or if I get to plant a miniature flag at its peak. I’m hoping for the flag, or at least a little rest at a camp with some hot chocolate.
An appropriate message for OU/Texas game day.
I got a little slowed down by illness this past few days, but I’m feeling better again and continuing my adventures. I think it was a combination of the rapid temperature change from boiling to frigid and a bit of stress from unemployment. Plus, New York just requires a daily level of energy that is hard to maintain, so maybe my body just wanted a break. Anyway, enough complaining. Me being me, I still got out and kept busy.
On Friday I saw the “Mountain Strip” installation at the Black & White Project Space in Williamsburg, where an artist had installed an upside down mountain in the gallery’s courtyard. It was interesting to see a huge rock formation from inside the gallery, like suddenly you were looking out the window to a national park. I also went to the opening of a photography group show at 3rd Ward, which was good if not monumental.
As any OU fans reading will remember (or not, depending on how talented you are at suppressing memories), Saturday was the OU/Texas football game and we watched at the alumni bar. They played a lot better than I expected, but there were just too many errors to beat Texas. We eased the pain of the loss with Tibetan food, Butter Lane cupcakes, and cheap beer.
Robots carrying bagels outside a bagel shop in Williamsburg.
It was cold and rainy again on Sunday, so I went to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and saw their two current exhibits. One is on sustainable design and the other is of winners of the National Design Awards. Through the sustainability exhibit, I found out about the ivory palm nut, which I’d never heard of before. They grow on palm trees and the outside of their seeds resembles and can be carved like elephant ivory. Needless to say, it is much easier and better for the environment to grow the ivory palm nuts than slaughter a herd of elephants.
Lion outside the New York Public Library.
We attempted to see a lecture at Pete’s Candy Store by Nathan Kensinger, who takes amazing photographs of abandoned and industrial New York, but the place was packed so we had drinks there instead. His blog is really fascinating, though, and I recommend checking it out. And on the topic of abandoned places, last night Arya and I saw Zombieland, a movie where most of the country is dead or flesh eaters. It was surprisingly good and entertaining and I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a pre-Halloween film.
Times Square.
Today I went to Galerie Lelong, which has a really cool exhibit by Jaume Plensa of giant illuminated heads sitting on rocks. Bizarre installation art is my favorite. I also spent time working with the free wifi in Bryant Park and then accidentally found out how close Bryant Park is to Times Square while walking around. That place is so overwhelming, although I’m glad they put all the crazy lights and advertisements in one place so we know how to hide from them. But it wasn’t all light and crowd-induced trauma, as I got a coffee in a Domo cup.
Cappuccino consumed in the East Village.
I thought autumn was just starting, but today winter decided to get a head start and deliver some freezing rain and wind. Apparently this year’s winter in New York is predicted to be harsh with many snow storms, so I’m sure I will be drinking many more warming cappuccinos like the one I had in the picture above at De Robertis in the East Village.
Some images were posted of the Atlantic-Pacific meet up that I went to a little while ago. You can read a summary and see pictures, including one of the back of my head, on the Urban Omnibus website.
Ferry passing Governors Island.
Last Saturday I spent the morning learning how to turn wine and beer bottles into glasses at the Brooklyn Skillshare in Gowanus. It was a day of classes where people “shared” skills such as raw food cooking, bicycle maintenance, and screenprinting and this one focused on upcycling, basically turning discarded objects into usable things. You can see some pictures on their flickr. After that we watched the OU football game before having an amazing dinner at a Korean restaurant in the East Village. I had a tofu bibimbap served in a bowl so hot that it was sizzling even after I’d started eating. That will probably also be a winter favorite.
Sunset and the Statue of Liberty seen from Governors Island.
On Sunday I participated in in my first piece of NYC performance art as part of Art in Odd Places. I met up with a group of artists and writers at the Hudson River Park, where I got a giant letter B and walked down 14th street to Union Square. There, we spelled out the phrase “Play in Public.” It was a project by a couple of artists, one who I’d met at the Under the Bridge Festival, to use phrases from protests or rallies in Union Square in a positive way. You can see pictures on their website, including a couple of me hidden behind the at least 4-foot-tall B. I’m planning on helping them again this Sunday.
Building on Governors Island.
That afternoon we went to Governors Island, as it was the last day of the season that the ferry would be taking people over. While I’d technically been there before when I was very young to visit my aunt and uncle who were stationed there, I am unable to recall any memories, so the sprawling green grass and red brick buildings was a surprise after nearly two months spent in crowded, skyscraper cornered streets. Governors Island was an army base from 1783 to 1966 and then a coast guard base until 1996. The northern part of the island is now open to the public as a park, although it seemed like most of the buildings were completely empty.
View of Governors Island from Fort Jay.
We spent some time exploring the beautiful tree lined streets with sudden views of Manhattan and got a great view of the island from the top of Fort Jay, one of two historic fortifications on the island. It was the first time in New York that I really felt like I was living in New England. New York usually seems so separate from the rest of the States, as much an island culturally as it is geographically.
Soft skeleton I made at Etsy Labs.
I ran a few laps around the track outside my apartment on Monday and am going to try to do it frequently. Unfortunately, I seem to have come down with a cold this week so haven’t ran since then. I also had a job interview on Monday and went to Etsy Labs that night to take a workshop on making skeleton softies. I’m not the best with sewing, but I think he came out very cute. And just in time for Halloween, possibly my favorite holiday. I am so excited about Halloween in New York that I’m a little afraid it won’t live up to my expectations, but I know it will be fun. I guess I should get a costume together. I’ve decided that I’m going to be Mina Harker from Dracula/League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, as it just requires a somewhat Victorian dress, long red scarf, and maybe some vampire bites.
I had another job interview on Tuesday and met with a friend for coffee at El Beit in Williamsburg. The coffee there is excellent and I’m starting to realize that if I’m going to be an expert on any NYC institution, it’s going to end up being coffee. I think this is a requirement of being a writer. How many fewer novels would there be in the world without caffeine?
Yesterday I spent all day temping at a business in the Empire State Building. The work was incredibly tedious number data entry, the kind of thing where you can’t think too much, but then have to keep thinking or you’ll start confusing 2’s with 3’s. The perks were great though and I got a free lunch and dinner delivered to the building, as well as a towncar ride home. I don’t think I’d been in a car since my taxi ride from the airport and I kind of missed it. As I looked out the window before the car exited into Williamsburg, I could see the Manhattan skyline lit up with the Empire State Building in purple.
