Thursday, May 26, 2011

Let's hear it for New York...

During my past week spent galavanting around New York City, I was lucky enough to see some amazing art, shop at some amazing stores, and visit some amazing friends (many of which I hadn't seen in quite awhile). In an effort to remember everything that happened during this action-packed wild week, I'm going to detail as much as I can, because it was truly a trip for the books.

After bidding adieu to my pup, I boarded a red eye Wednesday night bound for JFK. Someone please remind me never to take a red eye again. I thought it would be no big deal, as I sleep very little anyway... but it was awful. Enough said. I arrived on the other side of the country at 7am and booked it to my aunt's Upper East Side apartment, where I would stay until my friend Hannah arrived the next afternoon. My first order of business, needless to say, was marching straight to MoMA to see the German Expressionist exhibit.

As there is no photography allowed in the special exhibits, I will share a few of my favorite pieces, all from the MoMA website where a full archive can also be found. Below are a few of the many that had in awe:

Max Pechstein
Dancer in the Mirror (1923)
Woodcut

Franz Marc
Blue Horse with Rainbow (1913)
Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper

Ernst Kirchner
Evening Patrol (1915)
Lithograph

Franz Marc
Riding School After Ridinger (1913)
Woodcut

Oskar Kokoschka
Pieta, poster for the play Murderer, Hope of Women (1909)
Lithograph

Otto Dix
The Nun (1914)
Oil on cardboard

Emil Nolde
Young Couple (1913)
Lithograph
Edition of 112 in 68 color variations

George Grosz
Circe (1927)
Watercolor and ink on paper

Ernst Kirchner
Street, Berlin (1913)
Oil on canvas

Lyonel Feininger
Uprising (1910)
Oil on canvas

Ernst Kirchner

Max Beckmann
Descent from the Cross (1917)
Oil on canvas

Kathe Kollwitz
The Last Thing (1924)
Woodcut

Spent the rest of the afternoon sketching in Central Park then caught up over dinner with my aunt, but was too tired to do much else. The next morning I met my friend Elizabeth, who has recently relocated from Portland to Brooklyn, at Grand Central Station where we caught up over coffee before heading back to the MoMA to (surprise, surprise) see the Expressionist exhibit again as well as wander through some of the other galleries.


Elizabeth took this picture of me outside the entrance to the special exhibit. I look awkward, as usual.

She also told me that Yoko Ono left little notes all around one of the exhibit areas in the museum, so following our stroll through the land of Expressionism, I went on a scavenger hunt to find all of the aforementioned phrases.

On my Yoko Ono search, I also came across this. Being incredibly immature (as I am), I found it quite amusing, and had to take a photo.

After spending close to an hour playing with fascinating gadgets in the gift shop, I hugged my friend (hadn't seen her in 3 years! Love her!) goodbye and hopped on the subway to meet another friend, Megan, at the Blind Tiger (a beer bar in SoHo). Megan and I went to high school together, and she is one of my favorite people because she is funny and down to earth; one of those friends you can just pick up conversation with after barely any communication for 2 years. She opted for a beer called No Regrets, while I chose the aptly titled Prankster. It was Friday afternoon, otherwise known as The Eve Before the Rapture, and we had an animated discussion about our lives and potential end of the world. Also, a man in clown makeup strolled into the bar and began to juggle scarves. It was awesome.

I met up with Hannah after she flew in from LA that night, and we headed to Nobu to get some sushi. After visiting that cattle station, we headed to 1 Oak then Avenue, then met our friends Clementine and Alexis at Southside. After a late night party-party, Alexis & I found a diner... then proceeded to a park to watch the sun rise.

Hannah being Hannah.

Alexis being Alexis.

Sunrise being the sunrise.

Saturday was... a wash. Hannah and I ended up shopping a bit in the afternoon, then heading back downtown to Cipriani for dinner. We hid in our beds early, as was necessary to ensure the rest of a fun weekend.

Sunday I headed off to see Jim Dine speak at the Morgan Museum and Library... and what an amazing talk he gave. He was speaking in conjunction with his exhibit at the Morgan, a show titled "Drawings from the Glypototek" in a conversational setting with Ruth Fine, a curator from DC. After the talk, I marched right down to meet him. It went well. I'm kind of insistent about the things I decide upon, and this was on of them. I have a lot more on the Dine topic, for a later time. Anyway, I met up with Hannah later, and we decided to head back to Cipriani for a late dinner & to check out the bar.


Heels in the bag, flats on my feet. My typical party song/MOTTO, and an insight into how our Sunday night ended.


Monday morning came... and went. Hannah and I shopped in SoHo, then I met my friend Emily (whom I went to high school with), who'd also just graduated with her masters (!) from Columbia. After a short hang with Em and a dinner with another aunt, Hannah and I went to meet my long-lost friend Meghan (cool, cool girl and excellent jewelry designer) in the East Village where she was DJ-ing. She DJs at the most rad bar, Cabin, hidden below a pizza parlor in an epic place that is totally small but very Portland-ish in style.

Tuesday, I hopped (more like limped) out of bed to make an appearance at the McQueen exhibit at the Met. The show was TO. DIE. FOR. It was equal parts depressing and inspiring, and I have to admit... I'm a huge McQueen fanatic.


After McQueen, I returned to my stomping grounds at Barney's and Bergdorf, followed by a quick third romp through to the MoMA for one last trip through the German Expressionist exhibit.


After a quick pack-up, I was once again on a plane... this time bound for the rain-soaked state of Oregon. All-in-all, a truly successful trip. More pictures (and maybe stories?) to come.

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