And to think I defended American Apparel for “at least they don’t airbrush.” (Semi-NSFW.)
Do I recognize you from… that Palmolive commercial?
Best of the best: Writing Advice.
And then: one girl did it. One Girl, One Novel.
New York, I Love You is on Netflix Instant now. It is the worst. Let me prevent you from making that [...]
Tag Archive: new york
LYNX (!) books. movies. girls.
the vacation conundrum
The better your trip, the worse your real life will seem upon your return. Because I live in New York, I automatically find it to be the superior dwelling place of Planet Earth. I like to come back from a trip kissing the tarmac at JFK, gulping in the stale subway air, talking to myself in a crowd and rejoicing in my sustained anonymity.
There will come a time, New Yorkers, when you will be tested.
Within a two-block radius …
You can often experience a lot of art, especially if those two blocks are in gallery-rich Chelsea or perhaps even around 57th Street. Pick any block or two and you can create your very own gallery walking tour, with as much or as little planning and customization as you want. And for added bonus, galleries are almost always free entry, and if you plan your tour around opening nights you might even get a free glass of wine out of the trip.
a rant and Man Ray
Lately, on my grand tour adventures, I have realized how much of my experience at a show is affected by factors that have nothing to do with art, such as outdoor temperature, level of tourist frenzy, or cost to enter into a particular exhibit. And, for better or worse, those really cannot be controlled by the curators. There are also mood factors: energy level, awareness level, and capacity to receive educational information at that particular time. I will admit it: I’m not always in the mood to go through an exhibit that feels like a textbook.
a tale of two tweezers
I have my spies now, intrepid reporters, walking the streets and riding the public transportation of America’s finest cities with their eyes wide open; both in eager anticipation to – and in abject horror at – what they see.
Lately, a text message from a friend in Boston.
“if love be blind…”
So listen, it’s time to get back to our scenarios. With any luck, we can squeeze a few good ones in before it becomes winter, when men’s lustful passions are cooled and women’s shapely forms are bundled beneath layers of puffy down and scratchy wool. Just kidding! This is the city that never sleeps, which is to say, never hibernates, and absolutely never ceases to be a hotbed of teeming, steaming wildlife. The subway stays warm all winter, as it is underground and therefore closer to the burning magma at the center of the earth. There will be ample opportunity for unwanted public conversation and subway interrogation in our frigid winter months.
LYNX (!)
Links from the week, from in general, from sifting my fingers through the great sandy desert that is the internet.
to see and be seen
I have always said, that if I could have one superpower, it would be – wait – no, not the ability to fly, too dangerous. I’d be shot down by the police. Let’s be reasonable here. Invisible? I guess… but no, on second thought: too tempting. You would ultimately discover things you’d wish you didn’t know. All lurking in the background, breathing quietly, with your invisibility cloak on. Too much responsibility. I don’t have time for it. No, what I’d like, really, is the ability to stare at someone without them seeing me doing it. Creepy? Don’t care. What I want this for, desperately, is the morning commute.
flip it
There is no good way to meet a man. Something will always be wrong about how you met, like, he’s from the internet, or he’s your roommate, your boss, or actually your third cousin. Excuses, excuses. We have to keep our minds open and our options varied.
Fact: there are 185,000 more single women than men in New York City, and that is NOT counting the gays.
57th Street stroll
Although as Jeff Scher put it so well recently, “September is the Monday of months,” I for one am terribly excited for what’s to come this month and this fall season. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but most galleries and museums have been somewhat sleepy lately – the big summer shows ending but the fall ones not yet begun. The arts listings at the back of New York magazine have been slim. But now, finally things have started to pick up again and there are a few shows I cannot wait for to open.
the neue galerie
I have to start by saying that the Neue Galerie, also known as the Museum for German and Austrian Art, is fantastic. I have seen several beautiful exhibits there, it houses one of my favorite paintings, has a sublime collection of Weiner Werkstatte furniture, and I do not think I could walk out of there disappointed [complete personal bias]. If this kind of specialized museum interests you, and you decide to go (which you should) let me share a few comments before I continue:
the art of the book(store)
For the sake of a more cohesive and thorough cultural experience, this week, I am branching out from the more traditional visit to museum or gallery. Instead I travel into another artistic and cultural medium: the book, and its home, the bookstore. I am going to validate this choice of topic in two ways: ONE, books are works of art, in a medium that is usually accessible to the masses; TWO (more importantly) if you can’t afford a trip to visit the Greek ruins, well, maybe you can afford a tour guide of Greece and a copy of some Greek poetry. Yes? It’s travel for the stuck-in-the-city urbanite.
National Academy Museum
Perhaps the apocalyptic weather which has been following me (also, see Spectacle post, July 31 2009) had taken all the positive energy and optimism out of me, but was finding it difficult to plan my visit for this week’s post. In my state of weather-induced lassitude, little that I was considering really interested me. I wanted something small-scale. I did not want to go somewhere I had already been. And I did not want to deal with any crowds. The gallery listings looking slim, the only museum exhibit that caught my eye in New York magazine was “Reconfiguring the Body in American Art,” at the National Academy Museum. A museum on Fifth Avenue I had never been to and which I can’t remember even ever hearing about? Sold and sold.
CONTACTS: [Andre Munoz] Owner of Consortiums New York
Since I’ve begun contributing to this blog, nearly every interviewee has been more than generous in providing me with a friend or a colleague (a “contact” if you will) to connect with for a future Glasses Glasses post. In effect, I’ve stumbled upon this wonderful little community–not of the high-fashion, one day you’re-in, next day [...]
CONTACTS: [You] New York adventures –with alcohol.
This week I returned to “the people” in order to get a better idea of what exactly our readers were like. Crazy? Conservative? Inventive? I decided to find out. This may be short and sweet—but it’s certainly something many of us can relate to. I ask you: What is your first memory of getting drunk [...]