Still, I digress

Many times throughout the dark night in Williamsburg Brooklyn, I fell behind the group, taking pictures of fences and what not. Not that I like fences, but they can be fun to photograph. They are like an endless subject, though they end somewhere up the street–but no photo has to show that. They don't always have to look restrictive or imprisoning. Rather, they can appear artistic and curious. Like, What is back there? Why is there a purple locker on this one?

It can never be unlocked... ha ha

I digress...

There's so much to see and do in Williamsburg Brooklyn, in addition to the local art galleries and unique cafes, stores and shops, etc. It's important to take in your surroundings and appreciate the environment. There are so many artistic people and so many places along the trendy streets of Bedford, Whythe, Berry, North 9th, and so on. You'll want to go back again and again, just like I do!

From inside The Boiler gallery, my reflection viewing 'The Distance Between What We Have and What We Want (Arctic Ice Project)' by Tavares Strachen



Somewhere north of Whythe Street

I don't stop

One weekend back in the beginning of March, I went to the Armory Show on Pier 94 and half a dozen galleries in Williamsburg Brooklyn. It was exhausting and painful (feet-wise) but I couldn't stop or quit because this is New York and this is part of what I came here for! To see what the New York art galleries and museums have to offer, to spend hours traveling to the edge of Manhattan and out to Brooklyn and back if I have to.

So I'd only been to the trendy Williamsburg neighborhood once before, only to get lost and scared as day fell, but this time I was with a group of photographers. We visited Pierogi, The Boiler, The Black and White Project Space and Jack The Pelican.

Here are some memorable images from the night:

Alina and Jeff Bliumis, 'Casual Conversations in Brooklyn'

Jonathan Schipper's '215 Points of View', 2005-09, steel frame,

215 monitors and surveillance cameras, rubber, cables.

At The Boiler, part of Pierogi.

Balloon spotting in NYC

I love balloon sightings in NYC! This one in particular caused me to miss a meeting with my Super to fix a water problem that I was having in my apartment. I spent so much time admiring and taking pictures of the same darn thing (these balloons) that by the time I got home, he had left the building and wouldn't take my calls. Well I ended up fixing the problem all by myself that night AND I got to document this awesome balloon scene on Lexington Avenue in the 60's. Some people like long walks on the beach, some people turtles, and I?- I like balloons -- only to look at though, not to hear pop loudly.

more on The Armory: Linear art

The Armory seemed to have everything new and nothing old. I've never seen anything like its! Lots of lines and colors and materials.

Basically, The Armory show is made up of hundreds of local and international galleries—from NYC to California to London—and they all have their own cubicle-like space where they exhibit their artists' works. Back in the day when The Impressionists, Fauvists and Cubists (including Marcel Duchamp, one of my favorites) exhibited, people were shocked by the wacky art (refer to previous post)! Nowadays, people aren't shocked by anything...

The Armory art Show

This weekend I discovered that there is a show called The Armory Show. It is an annual international exhibition of modern art, first held on February 17, 1913 in NYC. The art displayed gave many Americans their first taste of modern art and set the stage for such contemporary creativity.

I had never heard of this show before, so I was a little stumped when I got to the outer edge of Manhattan on 55th Street and 12th Avenue, by the Hudson River, for the show being held in Pier 94 and Pier 92. I was out to meet with some fellow photographers who had planned the outing, and it wasn't until a random guy sitting next to me on a bench turned to me and asked, "So what do you think?" I didn't have much to say... so he gave me a little background about the show. And then I went home and googled it.

The Museum of Natural History - so much fun!

The truth is, this museum is huge, and there is a lot in it. I can't share every photo of every wallaby, crustacean, roach, duck billed something-or-other, elephant, whale, skeleton, pomeranean (kidding), and what not, but below are some of my favorites. 

I took pictures of most of the exhibits, but those are so flat and strangely back-lit, and while the animal exhibits did impress me, the museum's overall environment and feel inspired me even more. The interior and exterior may be simple and traditional, but that translates to familiar and comfortable—and that is what we all need right now... when we're cold and alone in the winter months of this giant city. 

There's so much to take in... so many people, so many places, all one day and one night at a time.

they're looking at me! (from the african animals exhibit, 3rd floor)



1 green balloon inside the ground floor lobby

Theodore Roosevelt

museum's exterior on Central Park West, close to 81st street

Now I really want to see that movie, Night at the Museum!

The Museum of Natural History - ice skating

I hadn't been inside the Museum of Natural History since I was a pre-teen. My 8th grade class visited NYC and D.C. during a school field trip but I don't remember anything about it. Well now I'm a grown up and ready to take on every museum in the city and blog and post photos about it; remembering each visit and every view forever.

My main attraction to this museum was the Polar Rink - an outdoor skating rink next to the planeterium and along 81st Street. My initial understanding, based on photographs and random details, was that it was an indoor skating rink. Well I was surprised when I got there on the cold day that was Sunday March 1st and it turned out to be outside!

I'd had a busy weekend and was a little drunk still from Sunday brunch, but I was on a mission to see this so-called ice rink (it's not real ice, it's a synthetic, plastic-like material), on its very last day, which was this day (March 1st)!

what a cute bear, er, polar bear