Dumbo Arts Festival '09

I'd been looking forward to the annual Art Under The Bridge festival in Dumbo, Brooklyn since last September when I first attended and saw this unique neighborhood for the first time. It provides great views and chances to see new contemporary art from up and coming artists.

This year, by the time I went (which was Sunday, the last day of the festival), there wasn't much going on since a lot of outdoor performances and installations were either over or had been rained out. But I still got to see a few cool pieces indoors and out:

From inside Smack Mellon studios on Plymouth Street

Ellen Driscoll's 'Revanent: New Work' inside Smack Mellon

Under the newly improved Archway on Water street,

below the Manhattan Bridge

rainy sign

out in front of powerHouse Arena on Main Street, facing the Manhattan Bridge

outdoor installation in Brooklyn Bridge Park, near the Brooklyn Bridge

Inside DAC (Dumbo Arts Center)

Astor Place and EV

One of my favorite places in the city to spend time in other than Union Square and the Flat Iron District/Madison Square Park is Astor Place. Since it is a trendy college neighborhood and on the edge of the East Village, there aren't many skyscrapers or corporate businesses, but there are a few architectural treats!

Building on Lafayette and Astor Place (near 8th street)

tile-covered lamppost in Astor Place

The Cooper Union building on 3rd Avenue

Radio City Music Hall revisited

I've posted about Radio City Music Hall a few times before (in one post I even say that I have no desire to attend a show there!), and now I'm revisiting it. Actually, I visited it.

I got to attend the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 13th and I snapped away whenever a celeb actor or musician was on stage performing or presenting! I wrote about the show more in detail here on my other blog. 

Now I am glad to have made it inside this amazing music venue that I claimed I'd never bother to step foot in. Next year, if the VMA's are held in New York City again, count me in!

My view from the far right of the theater

Cameramen situated on a platform to stage left

The host, British actor Russell Brand, making his entrance, following a 

performance by Katy Perry and one of the guitarists from Aerosmith

Screenshot of Taylor Swift's performance to her Moon-man award winning 

"You Belong With Me" outside of Radio City Music Hall on Avenue of The Americas

Roxy Paine on the Roof of The Met

Through November 29, 2009, a special exhibit will be on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum on Museum Mile in NYC. The special exhibit is by the artist Roxy Paine and it is a large, sinuous, sky-reaching steel sculpture. More info here. The work's title is "Maelstrom", which means a 'powerful whirlpool' or 'state of confusion'. I didn't really get either of those definitions/feelings from it. I just thought it was amazing, amazingly silver and amazingly long. 

9/11/08

Last year on the 7th anniversary of 9/11 I went down to the site of the World Trade Center to take some pictures and explore the area. I went the year before and was so impressed by the flowers and people and the all over presentation. The people, colors and architecture around the space inspired me to make a video to a song that reminds me of September 11th.

Skyscraper in pink

This skyscraper in Midtown is pretty in pink and I bet a lot of businessmen work here!

View from Lexington and 55th

More of Bloomingdale's

Sometimes I don't mind walking home in the rain. It can make for the greatest photo opp, especially at night when there aren't as many people around—even in front of one of the busiest department stores in New York: Bloomingdale's. 

I used to work a few blocks away from this store, but I've only been shopping there once. 

At night, the outside of Bloomie's is a beautiful sight. The old white exit/entrance sign that faces Lexington Avenue glows, the window displays surprise, and the surroundings amaze : )  

Nighttime passersby in the rain

New Juicy Couture window display

Multi-colored Louis Vuitton

The corner of Bloomingdale's on Lexington Avenue and 59th Street has a nice transitioning Louis Vuitton display.  First I was impressed by the neon red/orange so I got out my camera to take a picture. I turned around to walk away and it was pointed out to me that the display had changed colors! The neon green was nice too. Bloomingdale's, I'm impressed!

stop!

go!

On the train in Astoria

There are so many inspirational things in New York and even in Queens, like the elevated subway line, the graffiti on sides of buildings and the random things you spot when walking along the sidewalk: decorative elements on a fence or an item that's been set out for recycling. All of these things have a relation to one another. Sometimes it's the color, the texture, the location, the item's purpose, the way the sunlight affects it, etc.

I made this video earlier in the summer because I was inspired by my regular walk to the gym in Astoria. Construction sites, poles, cars and parks are always nearby, and it always takes a quick subway ride to get there. Most of my ideas for this video came to me on the train, so you'll see a lot of interior and exterior shots of the subway as well: