Museum Mayhem

On Saturday, Sara went to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum to see the
Picasso Black and White exhibit. This sparked my interest as I had somehow
never been to the Guggenheim and love Picasso. On Sunday, I woke up grey
  bright and early. It was rainy, overcast and not a pleasant day. But, it was a perfect
museum day. I hopped on the train uptown towards the Guggenheim for their
10:00 am opening. Arriving only five minutes past ten, I still had to stand in a fairly
long, but fast moving, line. 

The Guggenheim Museum itself is a spectacular art form. Designed by Frank
 Lloyd Wright, this cylindrical museum opened in October of 1959. The museum,
 based upon this cylindrical form, is the basis and bones of this structure allowing
the gallery to be viewed from almost every angle upon the uniquely designed circular
ramp which begins on the first floor and winds all the way up to the top where a
beautiful glass ceiling lights the open space. 

The exhibit contains works of art which includes sculptures, paintings, and
drawings from various artists, is displayed on the beautiful large white round
exterior walls of the museum. The central form of the museum is open to the
bottom floor which allows this curved ramp to have a balcony
effect for its existence. 

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Unfortunately, as this was a special private exhibit, no photography was
allowed except on the first floor. The work was spectacular. Very inspiring.
It inspired me so much, I purchased a City Pass for $89.00, which gives me access
to The Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
American Museum of Natural History, Empire State Observatory, and Ellis Island
and The Statue of Liberty or a Circle Line Cruise. 

Another unfortunate occurrence happened when I hurried from the Guggenheim at
90th Street all the way to Battery Park to catch the ferry to Ellis Island. The ferry
 officials informed me that Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty were closed for a
YEAR due to Super Storm Sandy. AWESOME! The two places I really wanted to go. 

I sucked it up, ate some lunch, hopped back on the subway and headed to
MoMa for the afternoon. My afternoon turned out to be wonderful. My
favorite exhibit was Christian Marclay's "The Clock." 

Winner of the Golden Lion award at the 2011 Venice Biennale, Christian Marclay's 
The Clock is a cinematic tour de force that unfolds on the screen in real time through 
thousands of film excerpts that form a 24-hour montage. Appropriated from the last 
100 years of cinema’s rich history, the film clips chronicle the hours and minutes of the 
24-hour period, often by displaying a watch or clock. The Clock incorporates scenes 
of everything from car chases and board rooms to emergency wards, bank heists, 
trysts, and high-noon shootouts.

It was simply fascinating.  As there was no limit on how long you stayed to watch,
I ended up spending most of my afternoon sitting front in center. After, I walked
 throughout the rest of the museum visiting all the exhibits and revisiting some
of my favorite pieces of contemporary art.

Yesterday, on my lunch break, I checked off another museum, The MET.
Only two avenues from where I work, I was able to check out the Matisse,
George Bellows and Faking It: Manipulating Photography Before Photoshop. 

I took my time during the Matisse exhibit. I believe I left feeling a little confused
as most of his art I had seen before had been more contemporary where
almost everything had a more traditional feel. Everything was beautiful and educational.
They really depicted his work in a manner which was easy to understand. 

The biggest surprise of the day was the George Bellows exhibit. The colors and
emotions displayed on his canvases were breathtakingly stunning. I fell in love
with a few of his paintings and wish I could share them. He really depicts
actual life time events and the emotional expression he shows is stunning. 

I finished my trip with a quick walk around the contemporary gallery and snapped
some photos of these wonderful Giacometti sculptures. Beautiful. One day maybe
 I'll be lucky enough to own any of these amazing pieces of history.