Weekend Update

Throughout this summer, if you're in New York, you should stop by one of these two museums on a weekend night since their admission fees go down from about $10-15 to "pay what you wish".

On Friday nights, the Whitney Museum of American Art allows you to pay what you wish from 6 to 9 pm. Right now there are some interesting installations on display: mirror installations by conceptual artist Dan Graham and some pop sculptures by Claes Oldenburg. These are beyond worth seeing any night of the week!

On Saturday nights, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has the "pay what you wish" option from 5:45 to 7:45, and a lot of people already know about it. When I got there this past Saturday, I waited in line on Madison Avenue, about 2 blocks away from the museum's entrance. Since it is the 50th anniversary year, The Guggenheim had an amazing special exhibition of its own architect and designer: Frank Lloyd Wright. It included original drawings and ideas for The Guggenheim's exterior, as well as for urban communities, schools and other institutions.

Exterior of The Guggenheim Museum on 5th Avenue

The line that was two blocks long!

The exterior of The Whitney Museum on Madison Avenue

Cool street art on Madison Avenue at 75th Street

The Guggenheim during YouTube Play

On Friday, October 22nd, The Guggenheim Museum held another one of their 'Art After Dark' events as part of an ongoing after-hours series, centered around a current exhibition. The main exhibit was YouTube Play, in which 25 videos selected from thousands of YouTube submissions were displayed in the 2nd level Annex of the museum. Visitors between the hours of 9 pm and Midnight enjoyed a private viewing of the YouTube Play presentation and projections of an assortment of videos on the museum's Frank Lloyd Wright-designed exterior.







An exhibit titled, 'Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, and Germany, 1918–1936' is also currently on display, through January 9th, 2011.

Guggenheim is restored!

The Guggenheim museum's exterior has been restored, finally! I last went two years ago, hoping to get some great pictures of it but it was covered by scaffolding and nets. It was disappointing and it was like that for about 3 years.

July 2008 marked its restoration completion and on Thursday, October 30th, admission was free until 8 pm to celebrate.

Some displays featured were Catherine Opie - American Photographer; Robert Rauschenberg -a memorial, 'Theanyspacewhatever' exhibit and Jenny Holzer - For The Guggenheim.

more pics on the flickr -

The restored exterior! Took this one when it was still light out.


display by Jenny Holzer - For The Guggenheim

Museum Mile Festival - 2011

Every year I look forward to the Museum Mile Festival, taking place on 5th Avenue between 82nd and 105th Streets. Last year I followed the inspiration quotes of artist James De La Vega down the mile and captured pictures of Central Park and the City from the Met Roof top.

In 2009 I went inside the Guggenheim Museum despite the crowds, and admired the quotes and chalk drawings along the way.

This year my friends and I teamed up to walk the mile from top to bottom, hoping to catch a glimpse of De La Vega in action, and we did! See below for all of the fun that was had admiring his quotes and writing our own!

De La Vega in action - writing his famous "Become Your Dream"


Joe drawing Andrew Wyeth's 'Christina's World'


With De La Vega's "Become Your Dream" quote


Close-up of the fish... becoming their dream...


Friends jumping in front of the Guggenheim


My sidewalk quote:


Admiring...

Museum Mile Festival 2009

The annual Museum Mile Festival took place on June 9th with the blocks along 5th Avenue that count as "Museum Mile" (82nd-105th) blocked off to cars so that people can walk the mile and participate in activities along the way. The museums were all free admission and two in particular had lines around the block. They were The Guggenheim, where there is a special Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and The Neue Galerie, where there is an enticing (ha ha) German Expressionist exhibit including works by one of my favorite painters: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

You only had 3 short hours to visit these famous museums, including the Met, Cooper Hewitt and the Museum of the City of New York. I was so exhausted afterwards. Why am I such a museum lover??? I love it so much!

the crowds in front of The Guggenheim

Walking up Madison Avenue

I remember three summers ago when I walked up Madison Avenue to the Guggenheim Museum and I took tons of pictures of the sky and buildings, and where they both meet. It was a long and inspiring walk, and so was the one I took last Friday afternoon up to the Whitney Museum of American Art on 75th Street. 

Madison Avenue is a narrow passage through the mid-east side of Manhattan, with buses and cars heading north and leaving the little people like me in the dust. 

It was nice to see all of the fancy stores like Carolina Herrara, Gucci, Prada, Juicy Couture and Oscar de la Renta. So nice. I can see it now, me shopping at these places in about 50 years, ha ha. 

Bottom line, Madison Avenue is a magical, miraculous avenue—because it would take either magic or a miracle for just anyone (and most everyone) to be able to purchase something along this pricey stretch, much less fit in...

The Fred Leighton store on 65th & Madison, 

right up the block from Chat Noir

In front of the Dolce & Gabbana store on 69th Street 

where they were doing a photoshoot on the corner!

Around the Reservoir

My new favorite place to visit in Central Park is the Jacquelin Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, near the entrances of 86th Street at Central Park West and 90th Street at 5th Avenue, right by the Guggenheim Museum. I can walk from my apartment in the Upper West Side over to this large body of water set against the many neighborhood skylines that surround it.

It is just 1.58 miles to walk the full length around the reservoir—my friends and I go all the time now that it is getting warmer!



View toward Midtown East


View of the Eldorado in the Upper West Side 90's