Guess Where I Am Right Now!

i was going to say bill's house.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

While getting out of a taxi in front of MoMA, to spend the entire day there, I tripped on a manhole cover. Instead of picking myself up and getting out of the busy street, literally lined with taxis going both ways, I realized how gorgeous that sewer was and took out my camera to take a photo...that was 7 years ago and I haven't stopped looking down and taking pix of city streets since!

Drew! wow, lucky you..........

My most recent MOMA story's not so nice, because, I was in NYC from London, to visit my Dad at his hospice, but, I took one day off visiting to go to
MOMA of course..................and sadly, when I phoned him after my return, he was furious and hung up on me , for going to MOMA and not to him.

And..........to get to MOMA from Forest Hills, Queens, I think I took the F/train......so, I purchased the ticket, and the attendant said to Me, (looking all
posh for 'the City"..)..........."what's the matter lady, chauffeur got the day off"?????????..........lollllllllllllllllllllll...........

While there, (sorry to the opinionated 'for and against' here)', I spent a lot of time at Guernica:a few drawings, and Blue Period Picasso paintings..and
Seurat,Van Gogh,Cezanne,Dali..........overwhelming!

Lol, I asked if there's reciprocity with the Museums in Australia, for a discount.........and the answer was "we don't give no discounts,or age deductions"!

My kind of town !

When I visited MoMA in 1953, I was so impressed and wished I had some kind of talent, so that I could display my work.

But all I knew about was photography, and photography back then was something used in newspapers to better tell a story.

How I desired to be an artist, but my hand could never control a brush.

No. I would never be included there. Never.

Unless....

I love MOMA. My first visit there 18 months ago opened my eyes to modern art: https://searching4theshot.com/2017/01/21/what-you-feel-or-why-a-painting-is-like-a-pizza/

~Richard
Life's a Holiday!

I first visited MoMA a few years after you, Chuck.

A place my family claimed was filled with " Is That Ain't " Art

The big hit at that time was, Pavel Tchelitchew's "Hide and Seek"

https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/1/339

Spent hours trying to find all the images within


Tried to understand Kazimir Malevich's "White on White"

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/80385


The piece that had me transfixed was a light box with a continually changing image, made up of apparent random moving sheets lit up by apparent random changing colored lights

I had the name of the artist, but has escaped this confused mind.

After that first visit I've spent more time there than I could ever begin to account for

"You can fool some of the people..."

You know where I'm going, Roger.

Watch this shiny object while I pull this cover over....

I will be sure to post more pictures later! Trying to herd my teens through the subway is trying indeed!

Very nice. I have never been there. Maybe - one day I will get there.


---------------
~ Bill
BillSwartwout.com

Here is (my daughter) with Claude Monet's Water Lilies
I don't think I should turn this into a images thread. I am have problems loading stuff off the phone anyway.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/untitled-drew.html?newartwork=true

Viv, we are staying at a very nice hotel in the middle of the financial district. I wanted my family to experience the subway. We now have our own little horror story I will share latter!
Time for me to get some rest!

hahaha, Drew........get some rest...........sweet (subway) dreams, lo;llllllllllllllllllllllllll

Wonderful. Enjoy.

Drew that's great, enjoy your trip!

Very cool. (-:

I have not been for some time now. Got to go back.

MOMA was a pretty everyday when going to school there and later living in the city. It was just, I'm going to MOMA today. Now it's a big deal.

Drew,

Let us know what you think of the renovations to the MoMA.

I was there is 2015 before they redid the place. It was poor for a major museum. The lighting was bad. They had to turn down the bulbs that were not made for showing art, so as not to damage the art.

There are some 7000 visitors per day. I was there on a Sunday, that is a mistake. JMO It was over run.

Oddly enough a very dear family friend, my age we went to school together, really my first playmate, was up from North Carolina that Sunday. We did not know till a few days later when we matched notes on FB, we had been in there at the exact same time.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

MoMA is open and the lighting right for presentation. There are 7 floors but the top flour was off limits.
We started at the 6th and worked our way down. Escalators kept people moving from flour to flour. Lots of people ! Lots clustered around Starry Night.

Today we visit Princeton University and then drive to Boston.

Tell us what you think of Harvard Square and the Harvard University Book Store, if you get to that.

Also just a suggestion for Boston, if you like Chinese food, ask someone where to get some better authentic Chinese food. It might surprise you. Depending on what they recommend. Do that in Cambridge not down town Boston.

The drive from Princeton to Boston is a bear. If you swing up 84 you will be in my neck of the woods as you pass through Hartford. Be careful driving in the Hartford area, the highway is poorly designed, everyone slows down, but Connecticut drivers are among the craziest in the nation. We have a reputation to live up to. You will see. The bad Hartford stretch of highway is very short. The city limits are small.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

Wow, I want to go!

If you're there, also consider a trip to the Whitney Museum. It's American art, much of it done by artists who are still alive, in a great building and location in Chelsea. Unfortunately, the hotel I stayed in several times closed recently (it was cheap and clean), so I don't have a specific place to stay to recommend, but, if you can find something around the West Village/Chelsea area, it's a terrific area to explore, not as crazy and tourist clogged as mid-town where MOMA is, and you can take the subway to MOMA. Both are not to be missed.

Dave B. Probably won't visit Harvard. Daughter is not interested. Princeston has been courting her for a while but she likes other schools better. Maybe not after today.

I'll just say this: I have been to many museums both major and minor in the US (including Alaska and Hawaii), Europe (Italy, Holland, France, Germany, UK, and Spain), Africa, Canada, and Mexico. The MoMA remains my favorite of all time. Just sayin'.

I liked the MoMA, I was overly critical. The museum though since has renovated because there was so much room for improvement. I was not wrong. Neither were the board members etc......

I was underwhelmed by the Guggenheim. Today the building seems small in NYC, there are a few cracks showing that I wish were repaired, and parts of the collection just were not really much of anything. But that is my critical side. I am a big Wright fan. The pictures in books and online of the Guggenheim show off its better side. JMO Edit: one thing I loved about the Guggenheim, somewhere up towards the top you can step out doors. That was truly great. Loved that.

Edit, the wiki page does not discuss in detail the current MoMA location since 1939, but the building is extremely dated. I vaguely remember something about the building being for something before becoming a museum. In fact many museum buildings across the country are much better built for the function. This is one big drawback.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

I'm with you, Kevin........journeying, and as to MOMA.........awesome, a word I save just for MOMA.

Doug, I spend a lot of time online at the Whitney......too.

The thing I respect about the Whitney, living artists can get in more easily. If your gallery in NYC has a say, you can get in.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

Wonderful, Drew! Enjoy.

Off topic, but my grandfather and father used to do occasional handyman work for Gertrude Whitney's sister-in-law Helen, widow of Payne Whitney, at Greentree in Manhasset, Long Island. Met Helen Whitney a couple of times when I was a kid.

Drew, look at some of the art while you're there! lol, j/k ;) Have a great day.

I was there once in around '85 I think, enjoyed it. I remember seeing Monet's large Water Lilies painting,
and if I remember, a small metal sculpture by Picasso, and also a Picasso painting maybe.

DS,

Any relation to the Pratt & Whitney jet engine folks? Whitney in this area is a big name.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

Ken, I looked at some art in the museum. I recognize most in fact!;)

Thanks Jim!
I will also try to check out some museums in Boston.

The MFA Boston and the ICA Boston are the two bigger ones.

I have not been to the ICA yet.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

My daughter wants to go to MFA. We are downtown Boston near China Town. Lots of kewl places all around us.

Hey Drew,

Do they still serve bread, with a Chinese Meal?.

I lived in Boston for a few years in the seventies (working on the construction of a high school in Roxbury).

Celebrated July 4th 1976, from my apartment window, enjoying Tchaikovsky's explosive 1812 Overture, coming up from just below.

And spent many nights at the Bull and Finch, long before Cheers.

It's a great town, that at that time had many problems though

We just arrived last night and ate at a Moroccan restaurant. We are doing the Euro thing and staying at a hostel.
I will keep my eye open in China Town Roger for bread w/ meals. Not crazy about Chinese food. Only thing from Chinatown in SF I ate was fortune cookies we watched being made.

Drew,

I have no names for Chinese restaurants up there. I am sure they run from great to very poor.

I have seen fortune cookies being made in SF. Actually a Japanese invention, the fortune cookie.

Addition: I was very impressed with the MFA. I saw a retrospective on Picasso's school through rose period. Terrific show. The rest of the museum is excellent.

Roger,

I was in London July 4, 1976. Age 13.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

I have just entered MFA Boston.
Feel free to discuss your experience at MFA!

Drew,

What was your take on the MFA?

Dave
Post Modern Artist

While only spending 2.5 hours at mfa, I realized I could have easily spent 2 to 3 times as long.
MFA is curated from a historical perspective. The ancient Babylonian, Egyptian, Hindi, Chinese and other Asian cultures are well represented; of course, so are the European and American art histories!
There is a Pastel Exhibit that really places the craft as a serious painting method also.
There is an excellent impressionist section as well and an exhibit on propaganda.

Top 3 US art museums IMHO;
National Museum DC
MFA Boston
MoMA N.Y. N.Y.

At this moment, at the Museum of Science, later will be taking an evening cruise and dinner.

I'm living vicariously through Drew.

Drew,

Not surprised you rated the MFA Boston so highly. It truly is a great museum.

I need to see the ICA Boston at some point.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

Yes, I am pleases with the quality and variety of art mfa has.
John Singer Sargent's Murals are quite spectacular. His art must have been influenced by William Blake.

Dave B - I don't think it's the same Whitney as the aircraft engine guy. It appears that a member of the member of the Vanderbilt family married a Whitney -

https://whitney.org/About/History

Doug,

Interesting. I'd have to solely dig into the history of the prior tool company.

Thanks,

Dave
Post Modern Artist

Calling Dr. Drew, where are you now?

Dave
Post Modern Artist

Maybe Drew has been carving "DREW WAS HERE" somewhere.. not the countertop!

If there was a modern version of the Mona Lisa at the MoMA, it could be called the MoMA Lisa. Or MoMa’s Lisa.
By nu Vinci.

No carving names today! Just drove up to Maine to visit family. Back in Boston now and will be flying back to Florida tomorrow evening. We may check out Harvard tomorrow just for it's historical significance. The Hostel is forming an unofficial tour and we can catch a train within walking distance.

My favorite part of Harvard is the book store.

Dave
Post Modern Artist

70% chance of rain today In Boston. We have a late flight out so we maybe doing something indoors like the aquarium.
Thanks for participating on the thread!
Will upload a few more photos of the masters later.