Finding Humanity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Posted on by NicholeS

Having visited museums on three continents, I still get a thrill out of calmly strolling in to my “local” great art institution- The Metropolitan Museum Art.  I come in with an idea of exactly what I want to see, fresh feet, and (some) sense of direction.  I have the luxury of having visited many times.  I have carved out this time for a visit and am not just checking this “site” off my list.

I’m not knocking tourists- it is not always an easy job- sensory and muscle fatigue are common.  My most recent visit to the Met put me there in the height of New York City’s tourist season.  Tens of millions of tourists flock to the City and of these, a large percentage pass through the Met’s doors.

I decided to isolate myself from the throngs of selfie-takers by focusing on HUMAN elements in the museum.  For this reason, statues attracted me.  Here are some poor quality mobile phone shots that I think are still splendid in their human-ness.

I look forward to my next visit!

Escape the Jangle of the City

Posted on by NicholeS

via Daily Prompt: Jangle

Within of my favorite places, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, I recently discovered the reinvigorated Native Flora Garden.  I found it to be an incredible escape from the jangle of life in New York City.  Brookyn’s three million human inhabitants so often get the upper hand and it is easy to forget that we are not alone in the city.  This garden is cool and quiet and ripe with life, the perfect respite on a busy summer day.

 

Beyond the Cityscape

Posted on by NicholeS

Over the past 15 years, I have been primarily interested in documenting city life both at home in New York and abroad.  Parks and green spaces within urban areas have also been a frequent theme in my photography.  However, last fall I began taking some photography classes that have encouraged me to expand my repertoire.  These experiences have encouraged me to look up, down, and sideways for the unexpected within the city’s confines, for happy accidents that create interesting visual imagery.

Here are a few of my recent photographic experiments.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

Building refracted by building

 

 

 

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Fresh rain and barbed wire

 

 

 

Nature’s shadow
Nature’s Grid
After the fall
Cityscapes, Parks, photography, urban life

Welcome, spring!

Image | Posted on by NicholeS

spring campus-COLLAGESpring has finally arrived in New York City.  In our northern climate, she often sneaks in slowly and flies away quickly, squeezed on either side by the more muscular New York winters and summers.

The warmer weather means a return to blogging for me, as I much prefer taking photos in the light of spring in summer.  Today I offer a haiku in celebration, and of course, a few photos.

The Bashful Tree

The pink and white tree

knows not whom she wants to be.

Spread your wings, dear tree!

pink-white tree

Waiting for the Bus at Sundown

Posted on by NicholeS

  1. 20170307_17253320170307_173813I  tend to wax poetic in my posts about New York City. Today I will not cover art, music, dance or culture. I will simply share some photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy 7 camera while enduring an extra long wait for the bus in Brooklyn. Waiting, after all, is part of contemporary life, especially for urbanites.

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Tree(s) Grow in the Bronx (Riverdale)

Posted on by NicholeS

This is a mini post to serve as an update to last summer’s chronicle of my trip to The Bronx’s Grand Concourse neighborhood. Two friends and I recently went back to the area, braving the January chill to climb the many hills of Riverdale in the Northwest Bronx.

It was a great escape, we felt like we had travelled Upstate, but in fact we never left New York City.  There’s a lovely, leafy suburban vilkage feeling to the place, even in the dead of winter.

If  you go, I recommend fortifying yourself at Tin Marin, where you can enjoy tasty tapas and drinks in avrelaxed setting. http://www.tinmarintapas.com

New Second Avenue Subway Stations Offer a Top Notch Art Experience for $2.75 or Less

Posted on by NicholeS

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A few of Vik Muniz’s “characters,” or people seen riding the subway, from actual photos

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The dawn of a new year has brought considerable excitement to residents of Manhattan’s storied Upper East Side, to Q line subway  riders (myself included), to transit enthusiasts, and to admirers of public and contemporary art (me again!).

Glass encased station entrance
Inside a sparking new station

The multi-billion Second Avenue Subway project, decades in the making, opened with a bang on New Years Day 2017, debuting a reconfigured 63rd and Lexington Avenue Station, and three bright and spacious new stations at 72nd Street, 86th Street and 96th Street and Second Avenue, all serviced by the Q train.

It’s not often that we New Yorkers feel good about our subway stations, but what I saw blew me away.  I won’t go into great detail*, as much has already been written, but will share some images of the permanent art on display.

Over the last 20+ years, commissioned public art has become much more commonplace in the City’s transit hubs.  The art is usually added to rehabilitated stations.  This time, the art and the stations where designed with each other in mind and the result is stunning!

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Sarah Sze’s monumental “Blueprint for a Landscape” at the 96th Street station

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Some of the murals and mosaics can be viewed by simply entering the stations before one reaches the turnstiles, like this one, by Chuck Close.

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To see all of the art work, one can pay only $2.75, ride up to 96th Street, and then visit each stop: 86th, 72nd and 63rd  on the way back downtown. There’s no need to pay $25 to visit a local art museum!

The slideshow below features images by Chuck Close at the 86th Street Station

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Kudos to all who worked to complete these stations.  They are worth a visit!

*For more on the history of the Second Avenue Subway: http://nyti.ms/2iGcmey