Sign on Warren Street

Sign fastened to a tree near the corner of Warren and Clinton Streets.

Sign on Warren Street
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Manolo Valdés at Bryant Park

I haven’t walked through Bryant Park in a while, so I almost missed the display of monumental bronzes by Spanish artist Manolo Valdés.

If you think there is something vaguely familiar about these sculptures, that may be because Valdés’s work is inspired by the great masters.

The four massive female heads near the fountain (each more than thirteen feet tall) were suggested by faces in Henri Matisse’s paintings. The figures on upper terrace (near the Public Library) are based on Diego Velázquez’ painting, Las Meninas, which depicted the Infanta Margarita and Reina Mariana.

If you want to visit them yourself, you’d better hurry; the exhibition of Valdés sculptures ends on April 15.

Manolo Valdes at Bryant Park
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Yvonne I
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Yvonne II
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Regina I
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Regina II
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Reina Mariana (I)
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Reina Mariana (II)
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Reina Mariana (III)
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Infanta Margarita
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Public Outdoor Art
Press Release: Manolo Valdés At Bryant Park
Bryant Park
Bryant Park Manolo Valdés
Instituto Cervantes

In Your Easter Bonnet

Easter Parade
In your Easter bonnet
With all the frills upon it
You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade

I’ll be all in clover
And when they look you over
I’ll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade

On the Avenue, Fifth Avenue
The photographers will snap us
And you’ll find that you’re in the rotogravure

Oh, I could write a sonnet
About your Easter bonnet
And of the girl I’m taking to the Easter parade

– Irving Berlin, 1933

The Easter Parade is one of New York’s best-known and least understood holiday traditions. There are no floats, no marching bands, no reviewing stand, no check-in table, no starting spot or finish line. It’s not that kind of parade. In fact, there’s not much organization at all.

The event’s title stems from the use of “parade” as a verb meaning “to promenade in a public place, esp. in order to show off.” Every Easter Sunday, Fifth Avenue from 49th to 57th Streets (roughly the area between Rockefeller Center and Central Park) is closed to traffic for several hours while the paraders stroll along the pavement.

Anyone who wants to participate is free to join in at any time while the celebration is taking place. Street musicians, face painters, food vendors and others who want attention tend to show up, too.

But the focus of the parade is on ordinary people, specially dressed for the day, meandering up and down the street to greet each other, show off their outfits (particularly their “Easter bonnets”) and proudly pose for innumerable photographers and admirers.

Pink & white ears
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Sticking out her tongue
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Lavender bunny & shirt
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Pink Garden
Originally uploaded by annulla.

I Love Lucy hat
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Many colored feathers
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Hat with blue parrots
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Black leather & teddy bear
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Happy Easter scene hat
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Pink & silver hat
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Bunny
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Old-fashioned elegance
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Dressed up couple
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Two toppers
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Front
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Back
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Easter Parade film
As Thousands Cheer
Dictionary: Parade

Push for Help

Armed only with a heavy, black marker, someone turned this customer assistance intercom box in the Times Square subway station into a helpful, smiling face.

Push for help
Originally uploaded by annulla.

A Reader Lives Here

In the center of Greenwich Village, this window-cum-bookshelf at the corner of MacDougal and Bleecker Streets caught my eye. Sure, he’s lost half his view, but who needs to look outside, anyway, when you can see the whole world in a book?

A reader lives here
Originally uploaded by annulla.

The Mitzvah Tank in Times Square

Parked in front of the Times Square subway station, surrounded by neon and flashing lights, was a large vehicle bearing signs that identified it as a Mitzvah Tank. A what?

Mitzvah Tanks are a fleet of specially-outfitted motor homes used by followers of Menachem M. Schneersohn, commonly known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe. His adherents, who are called Lubavitchers, use the vehicles as portable educational and outreach centers.

To understand the purpose of the Mitzvah Tanks, it is necessary to know that the Lubavitchers are Orthodox Jews who encourage secular Jews to learn about and practice Judaism.

The Lubavitchers are not like traditional missionaries or evangelists. They aren’t trying to convert anyone who follows a different religion; rather, their goal is to reach those who have drifted away from (or never really learned) the teachings of their own faith.

The name Mitzvah Tank combines two important concepts: a mitzvah is a good deed (or a holy obligation), and the Lubavitchers cheerfully compare their outreach efforts to a military campaign in which motor homes serve as “tanks.” 

Mitzvah Tanks are often seen around town just before major Jewish festivals. Since Passover (Pesach) begins tonight, the tank in Times Square was surrounded by kids offering boxes of hand-made matzoh and information about the holiday.

When I guessed that the kids lived in Brooklyn (location of the Lubavitcher World Headquarters), they were delighted to give me kosher-for-passover snacks and pose for a few photos.

They also urged me to visit their neighborhood, Crown Heights, including a trip to the Jewish Children’s Museum that opened last year. Well, the weather is getting warmer …

In front of the Times Square subway station
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Let’s welcome Moshiach with acts of goodness & kindness
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Step up to the Mitzvah Tank
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Parked on 42nd Street
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Boys with boxes of hand-made matzoh
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Wikipedia: Mitzvah Tank
Gothamist: Mitzvah Tank Invasion
Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters
Passover
Beit Chabad: Pesach
Tank Parade

Painting a Garden in Transit

“The project will highlight — on a mass scale — goodwill, hope and triumph on a city, national and international level.”

This space on 32nd Street has been empty ever since the last tenant, a discount store known as Amazing Savings (formerly Odd Job Trading Company) declared bankruptcy. Now, at least for a while, the place is again bustling with activity because Portraits of Hope has come to town.

A non-profit, California-based organization, Portraits of Hope has created unique, high profile, inspirational public art projects around the world. They are now in New York to work on an innovative program called Garden in Transit.

For the next few months, thousands of people from hospitals, schools, and community groups around the city will come here to paint stylized flowers onto plastic panels. Once completed, these removable, weatherproof panels will be affixed to the roofs, hoods and trunks of 12,760 New York City cabs.

From September 1 to December 31, during the centennial celebration of the metered taxi, the decorated cars will serve as a vibrant, colorful Garden in Transit as they drive through the streets of the city.

Grandma helps a painter
Originally uploaded by annulla.

A painter
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Taxi 07

Painting the panels
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Portraits of Hope
Garden in Transit
Hotel Pennsylvania
Amazing Savings
DCC
Amazing Savings to reorganize in midst of bankruptcy

Save Coney Island!

It isn’t often that members of the NYPD tell protesters, “I really hope you guys win.” But then, these weren’t ordinary protesters; this motley crew had trekked in from Brooklyn and assembled on the steps of City Hall to try and save Coney Island.

For decades, Coney Island has been a beach resort for New York’s working-class, a haven for artists and source of housing for the poor. Recently, a large section of the neighborhood was sold to a developer, Thor Equities, which wants to build luxury high rise condos in the heart of the Amusement District.

Thor is trying to convince the city to allow them to build towering multi-million dollar residences on the boardwalk. Their opponents warn them to expect “a vicious war.”

Today, Coney Island’s artists and residents gathered at New York’s City Hall to speak out against the developer’s plans. Their appearance was whimsical but their intentions were serious. Beneath the feathers, glitter and mermaid tails were concerned, thoughtful members of an endangered community.

Speaking to dozens of reporters, the protesters declared their love for Coney Island and their commitment to ensuring that it is not turned into yet another exclusive playground for the wealthy.

The burly cops, many of them remembering sunny childhood days spent on the rides at Astroland, nodded in sympathy and, speaking softly to the protesters, said, “I wish you luck, you guys. Good luck!” 

Miss Coney Island & Miss Cyclone lead the procession
Originally uploaded by annulla.

The Hungry Marching Band in the parade
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Protester in lobster hat
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Coney Island tribe
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Angie & Ekaterina on the steps
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Louis Scarcella, President of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Coney Island pirate
Originally uploaded by annulla.

James Ferguson (aka Tigger) in mermaid tail
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Protester in a purple boa & pink gloves
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Two protesters
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Protester in a pink feathered mask
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Dianna Carlin (aka Lola Staar)
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Save Coney Island
Gowanus Lounge: New Coney Island Tactic
Gowanus Lounge: Demonstration Details
NPR: Developer Eyes Coney Island
NY Post: Coney Development
The World Famous Pontani Sisters
Coney Island Polar Bear Club
Lola Staar
Center for an Urban Future: Dianna Carlin
Thor Equities

Leaning Firm on Cadman Plaza

One January day, a large red metal object suddenly appeared on Cadman Plaza in the space normally occupied by the Greenmarket. No fanfare, no announcement, no sign, no plaque.

When the farmers arrived, they shrugged their shoulders, set their stands up and carried on with business as usual. The curious peered closely at the large red object, circled it and guessed at its meaning.

Was it a part of something bigger? The beginnings of a machine or a building? A fountain? A sales display? A work of art? The base bore what appeared to be a signature or brand name  — C.F. Smith — but no official explanation was forthcoming.

Finally, this week, I did some research. It wasn’t easy, but I learned that the big red object, a sculpture entitled Leaning Firm by Cheryl Farber Smith, is here only temporarily and will be leaving Brooklyn in July.

From the artist’s Web site:

Cheryl Farber Smith’s aluminum sculpture fuses simple geometric shapes to create a composition that simultaneously suggests motion and repose. Painted with a high-gloss red finish, it stands 9’4″ high, 7’5″ wide and 5’7″ deep.

Post office in the background
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Looking towards the Commerce Bank
Originally uploaded by annulla.

In front of the Courthouse
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Looking towards Borough Hall
Originally uploaded by annulla.

The signature on the base: C.F. Smith
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Cheryl Farber Smith
Public Outdoor Art: Current Exhibits

The Fire Stills Burns in Memory

In the heart of New York City near Washington Square
In nineteen eleven, March winds were cold and bare.
A fire broke out in a building ten stories high,
And a hundred forty-six young girls in those flames did die.

— Ballad of the Triangle Fire by Ruth Rubin

On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the eighth floor of Asch building, a massive structure at the corner of Washington Place and Green Street.

The top three floors of the 10-story building were occupied by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a manufacturer of women’s clothing. That afternoon the factory was packed with nearly 500 workers, most of them young immigrant women.

The factory was a typical sweatshop where workers, including children as young as 12, labored 14 hours a day, 72 hours a week. The place was dirty, crowded, loud and dangerous. Although it was filled with paper and fabric and lit by open gas flames, there was only one exit, no fire extinguishers and no sprinklers. A single stairway led to the roof.

That day, when the cry of “Fire!” was heard, workers rushed to the exit, only to find the supervisors had locked the door from the outside, a common practice intended to prevent them from taking breaks or stealing materials.

The fire department was on the scene within minutes, but their ladders were too short to reach beyond the 7th floor and the water from their hoses went no higher. The windows were the only way out. Terrified girls jammed onto the only fire escape, which buckled, twisted and collapsed under their weight.

The firemen held life-nets, trying to catch the desperate workers who were jumping from the windows, but the nets couldn’t withstand the force; the girls’ bodies tore straight through the fabric and crashed into the pavement. Eyewitnesses told of girls sailing through the air hand in hand and of a couple who embraced and kissed before they lept together.

By the time the fire was extinguished 146 people were dead, making it the worst industrial disaster in New York City history. It took one week to identify the dead; seven remained unknown, as did the cause of the fire.

The tragedy at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory galvanized working women, leading to increased trade union membership and a series of strikes across the nation calling for higher wages, safer conditions and women’s suffrage. It also focused public attention on the inhumane working conditions in the city’s factory’s and led to massive reforms, including the creation of the new safety and labor laws, strict building codes and fire inspections.

Today, the 96th anniversary was marked by a solemn ceremony outside the Asch building, which withstood the blaze and is now owned by New York University.

Politicians, fire officials, labor leaders and clergy honored the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and railed against the dangerous working conditions that still exist around the world. A prayer was said and the Ballad of the Triangle Fire was sung.

Finally, schoolchildren were given white carnations, each tagged with the name of a victim. A silver fire bell tolled 146 times as the children read the names, then placed the blossoms in a pile, forming a tangled mound of crushed flowers and stems on the chilly sidewalk.

The plaque is the only memorial here
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Victims’ names written in chalk
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Union members holding signs
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Workers listening and holding union signs
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scarpetta
Originally uploaded by annulla.

City Council President Christine Quinn
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Kids from P.S. 20 listen to speakers
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Students holding a union sign
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Cardinal Egan leading the group in prayer
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Victims’ names attached to white carnations
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Cornell University: The Triangle Fire
Historybuff: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
The Gale Group: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: 1911
Library of Congress: An Elegy for Fire Victims
New York Times: Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart
Hamlet: the Untold Tragedy of the Imperial Food Products Fire
International Labour Organization: The Kader Toy Factory Fire

A Peek Inside a Padded Room

Priscilla Monge: Room for Isolation & Restraint
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Yesterday the Brooklyn Museum opened the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. The inaugrual exhibition, entitled Global Feminisms, includes this work, Priscilla Monge’s “Room for Isolation & Restraint (Cuarto de aislamiento y proteccion),” an “installation with sanitary napkins inside a wood-framed structure.”

To the right of the door is white bin overflowing with white disposable shoe covers and a sign saying “Please put on shoe covers before entering this room. Por favor, utilicen los cubre zapatos desechables para acceder a esta habitacion.”

Global Feminisms includes work by approximately eighty women artists and will be on display at the Sackler Center until July 1.

Brooklyn Museum: Global Feminisms
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
Marco Canepa Gallery: Priscilla Monge

The Red Balloons

I saw this woman at the corner of 8th Street and Broadway, the dividing line between Greenwich Village and the East Village.

The scene reminded me of one of my favorite films, Le Ballon Rouge (the Red Balloon) by Albert Lamorisse, the story of a young boy who chases an elusive balloon through the streets of Paris.

Woman in a red coat with red balloons
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Red Balloon: The Film
Red Balloon: The Book
The Village Alliance
East Village

The Wearin’ o’ the Green

On March 16 the city was battered by a fierce blizzard and an ice storm. Trains and flights were cancelled, drivers skidded and slid off the roads and pedestrians ran to the nearest store, stocked up on bread and milk, then scurried home and locked their doors.

But for those who wait all year for the wearin’ o’ the green, winter’s last gasp was a mere inconvenience; nothing could stop the 246th New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This is the city’s largest and most popular parade, typically drawing 2 million spectators and 150,000 marchers.

In New York the tradition is older than the nation; our first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was organized by Irish soldiers serving in His Majesty’s service more than 10 years before the Declaration of Independence was drafted.

The St Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the few that allow no cars, floats, trucks or other vehicles; anyone who wants to participate goes up Fifth Avenue, from 44th Street to 86th Street, on foot.

So, despite the day-long storm that nearly brought the city to a halt, city sanitation crews worked throughout the night to clear the route of ice and snow for today’s big parade. Other municipal agencies were busy, too, as subway and railroad schedules were adjusted to accommodate parade goers, the surrounding streets closed and barriers erected along the parade route.

The weather prevented the work crews from painting the traditional green stripe down the middle of the street, but everything else was as usual. Pipers and marching bands from around the country (and a few from the auld sod) nervously fingered their instruments. Firefighters and police officers assembled in their full dress uniforms. Souvenir vendors loaded themselves up with green balloons, green hats, green beads, shamrock stickers, Irish flags and badges saying “VIP: Very Irish Person” and “Kiss Me, I’m Irish.”

At the stroke of 11:00 the parade began, and it didn’t end until about 4:30, when the last red-headed, green-shirted boy giddily heard the applause as he crossed 86th Street. I hope your St. Patrick’s Day was as happy and exciting as his.

A lamppost on Fifth Avenue
Originally uploaded by annulla.

The last boy across 86th Street
Originally uploaded by annulla.

A green tie and a special cap
Originally uploaded by annulla.

The Buena Colts Marching Band from Arizona
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Wearing a green beret
Originally uploaded by annulla.

An experienced piper
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Banner of the Glasgow Celtic Supporters
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Father & daughter marched together
Originally uploaded by annulla.

A visitor from Vermont
Originally uploaded by annulla.

You don’t have to be Irish
Originally uploaded by annulla.

A marcher from New Jersey
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Displaying his faith
Originally uploaded by annulla.

His mother comes from Kerry
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Official St. Patrick’s Day Parade Web Site
SaintPatricksDayParade.com
Emigrant Online
Irish Echo
Irish Dirt

Tucker Place Park

Wedged between the fishing piers and a bait store, Tucker Place Park is a tiny bit of land (1/10 of an acre) alongside Sheepshead Bay.

Located at the corner of 27th Street and Emmons Avenue, it is named for J. Driscoll Tucker, a hard-drinking Brooklyn politician once known as the “Mayor of Sheepshead Bay.”

The little park contains a drinking fountain, some flowers, a few benches and, on a good day, a couple of sunny little faces.

Sign at Tucker Place Park
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Twin gulls at Tucker Place Park
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Twin girls at Tucker Place Park
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Driscoll Tucker Place

Mysteries of Brooklyn: The Painted Kiosk

Dere’s no guy livin’ dat knows Brooklyn t’roo an’ t’roo, because it’d take a guy a lifetime just to find his way aroun’ duh f_____ town.
— Thomas Wolfe, Only the Dead Know Brooklyn, 1935

A narrow, wooden pedestrian-only bridge connects Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay to Shore Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. Built in 1880, the span is known as the Ocean Avenue Bridge.

At base of the bridge, at the corner of Shore Boulevard and Exeter Street, stands a shabby wooden kiosk. No signs indicate the purpose of the hexagonal structure. 

On one side of the minuscule building is a boarded up door and an ancient air conditioner clogged with paint. The other five sides feature plywood panels carefully painted with fanciful, colorful scenes. 

Who painted them — and why? A name and date appear on some of the panels, but time has made the script difficult to decipher. Is the date “‘74″ or “‘94″? Does the signature say “Salystein”? “Sacystein”? “Szcystein”? “Sackstein”?

For those in the neighborhood, it is just part of the landscape. Every day dozens of joggers and strollers pass without even glancing at the little kiosk or its fantastic menagerie. Just another of Brooklyn’s many mysteries.

The kiosk
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Dog panel
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Fish panel
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Cat panel
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Bird panel
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Flower panel
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Wikipedia: Manhattan Beach
NY Times: Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach Community Group
Kingsborough Community College

The Windows at 65 E. 97th St.

East 97th Street marks the uppermost border of the Upper East Side, New York City’s wealthiest neighborhood. Turn south and you will face mansions and embassies. Turn north and you will be in El Barrio, Spanish Harlem.

I was walking along East 97th Street when, at Number 65, I was capitvated by an unexpected display. The ground-floor resident has decorated the front windows with an array of plants (both real and artificial), garlands, animal figurines, flags, signs and bric-a-brac.

On this otherwise staid, quiet block of stately Manhattan residences, the tacky, gaudy riot of color bursting forth from Number 65 is startling, puzzling and (to me, at least) amusing.

Elephant in window
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Frog in window
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Bull in window
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Rooster & artificial flowers in window
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Living La Cheeto Loca

I appreciate good design, but interior decorating isn’t a part of my life. In fact, you’d probably have to look hard to find someone less concerned about styles and trends in interior design.

I can’t imagine what an interior decorator would do in my home, but it’s a fair bet it would look like an entirely different place; I don’t have “themes” and “color schemes,” just furniture and stuff.

Nevertheless, I recently visited the New York Design Center, a building devoted to interior designers and furniture showrooms. While entering the fifth floor offices of Cliff Young Ltd., I saw a piece that made me stop dead in my tracks.

The item, created by Italian furniture manufacturer Della Robbia, is called the Bon Bon Ottoman. It measures 20” w x 20” d x 17” h and it is mounted on casters so that easily rolls across the floor.

The tag says that it is solidy constructed from hardwood and New Zealand wool, but to my eye it appears as though it is made entirely of Cheetos.

I imagine this thing in the den of a weary suburban dad—someone, perhaps, like Homer Simpson. He slumps in his lounge chair, a can of beer in one hand, the television remote resting on his belly. His eyes are glued to his big-screen TV. With his free hand, he gropes blindly for the bowl of cheesy snacks resting on the Bon Bon near his elbow. He grabs a handful, stuffs them in his gullet, and then, unthinkingly, wipes his orange-stained fingers across the surface of the woolly ottoman.

His long-suffering wife watches him smear crushed Cheetos on the furniture, smiles to herself and thinks, “Yes, my man is still a slob, but thanks to my Bon Bon Ottoman, no one will ever know.”

I can’t remember ever lusting after a piece of furniture (OK, I’ve never lusted after furniture before), and I accept the fact that the price-tag puts this thing firmly out of reach, but I am now madly, hopelessly in love with the Bon Bon Ottoman.

If anyone out there has a spare Bon Bon, I’ll happily give it a new home. Just let me know; I’m ready to start living La Cheeto Loca.

Bon Bon Ottoman
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Cheetos
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Homer Simpson
Originally uploaded by annulla.

New York Design Center
Cliff Young, Ltd.
DellaRobbia Furniture
Cheetos
Homer Simpson

A Trip to the Jewish Museum

After thoughtful consultation by the Museum’s Trustees and management, and with the endorsement and support of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, we embarked upon the experiment of opening the exhibition galleries on Saturdays, on a trial basis, [from May 12] through September 16, 2006. In observance of the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday admission is free, the shops and café are closed, and interactive electronics are not available. We are wholly committed to providing an educational and contemplative experience in a way that respects and honors the Sabbath spirit.

It isn’t the biggest museum in the city, nor the most famous, nor the site of the biggest, splashiest exhibitions. It doesn’t have the best-known collection, make headlines with controversial shows or plaster the city with racy posters, so even though it is located on Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile, many people never think about walking through the doors of the Jewish Museum.

Recently, the museum’s directors have taken a few steps to increase the number of visitors, including remaining open on Saturdays, offering free admission on Saturday (adult admission is usually $12), and hosting exhibits featuring well-known artists and popular culture. (Note to management: allowing visitors to use cameras would be a nice next step.)

I took advantage of the free Saturday policy to see the current shows as well as a permanent display, Culture & Continuity: The Jewish Journey. The exhibit consists of a series of videos, playing continuously on a row of televisions, which reflect five themes from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: A time to be born and a time to die; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time for peace.

Masters of American Comics
September 15, 2006 – January 28, 2007
Originally exhibited in Los Angeles, this show, the first major museum examination of one of America’s most popular forms of art, was split into two sections when it came East: comic strips from the first half of the 20th century went to the Newark Museum while comic books from the 1950s and later were exhibited at the Jewish Museum.

Superheroes: Good and Evil in American Comics
September 15, 2006 – January 28, 2007
Superheroes examines how, in the 1930s and 1940s, young artists and writers (many of them Jewish immigrants who had suffered as victims of oppression) created a new comic book genre—the superhero. This superb exhibit shows how these innovators melded characters from Greek mythology and biblical narratives with the immigrant experience of America to create superheroes: personages who, while seeming to be ordinary people, were actually powerful figures dedicated to fighting for “truth, justice and the American way.”

Light x Eight: The Hanukkah Project
November 25, 2006 – February 04, 2007
In honor of Hanukkah, the Jewish feast of lights, the show features the work of eight contemporary artists exploring lights’s ability to change in form, appearance and structure.

Alex Katz Paints Ada
October 27, 2006 – March 18, 2007
Prominent Brooklyn-born painter Alex Katz has spent most of his career depicting a single subject, his wife, model Ada del Moro. The show includes 40 paintings Katz created between 1957 to 2005, all of them featuring Ada. According to a sign posted at the exhibit, “Ada’s sense of style is timeless and unassuming and she … has a knack for wearing outfits that would make anyone else look dowdy.”

From Light x 8: Alyson Shotz’s Coalescence
Originally uploaded by annulla.

From Light x 8: Teresita Fernández’s Vermillion Fragment
Originally uploaded by annulla.

From Masters: Devil Dinosaur
Originally uploaded by annulla.

From Masters: Chris Ware’s Superman Suicide
Originally uploaded by annulla.

From Superheroes: Will Eisner drawing with corrections
Originally uploaded by annulla.

From Superheroes: Will Eisner’s The Spirit
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Zap Comics #1 by R. Crumb
Originally uploaded by annulla.

From Alex Katz: Black Scarf
Originally uploaded by annulla.

From Alex Katz: Ada Ada
Originally uploaded by annulla.

NY Times: Masters of American Comics
The Jewish Museum: Masters of American Comics
The Jewish Museum: Superheroes
The Jewish Museum: Light x Eight: The Hanukkah Project
The Jewish Museum: Alex Katz Paints Ada
The Jewish Museum
Museum’s Exhibition Galleries To Open On Saturdays

The American Beauty Project

In a burst of creative energy, the Grateful Dead recorded two of their best albums in a single year: American Beauty in March 1970 and Workingman’s Dead in August and September 1970. Both feature a blend of folk, rock, bluegrass and country music so innovative it resulted in both being listed on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

To celebrate the albums’ 35th anniversary, producer David Spelman organized a two-evening tribute he called the American Beauty Project. The show, held at the World Financial Center, reflected much of the spirit of a Grateful Dead performance. The assembled crowd ranged from babies in tie-dyed onesies to elderly couples leaning on walkers. It included both the anticipated core of nostalgic Dead Heads and hippies and an unexpectedly large contingent of the Wall Street denizens who live in the area.

The concert, hosted by legendary DJ John Schaefer, presented a diverse roster of artists who performed their own arrangements of the Grateful Dead’s groundbreaking music. Tonight’s lineup included:

Uncle John’s Band by Ollabelle with Larry Campbell

High Time by the Holmes Brothers and Catherine Russell

Dire Wolf by Larry Campbell with Teresa Williams and Rob Barraco

New Speedway Boogie by Catherine Russell and Larry Campbell

Cumberland Blues by the Klezmatics

Black Peter by Jim Lauderdale with John Leventhal, Brandon Ross and friends

Easy Wind by Tim O’Reagan (the Jayhawks)

Casey Jones by Railroad Earth

Encore: Going Down the Road Feeling Bad

Plus instrumental interludes by Andy Statman, Tony Trischka, Kerryn Tolhurst and David Spelman.

The crowd in the World Financial Center
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Catherine Russell
Originally uploaded by annulla.

Andy Statman
Originally uploaded by annulla.

The Klezmatics
Originally uploaded by annulla.

The American Beauty Project
Originally uploaded by annulla.

John Schaefer & Larry Campbell
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Ollabelle
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Jim Lauderdale & the Klezmatics
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New York Guitar Festival

A Visit to the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is one of the least popular and, unquestionably, most controversial of the nation’s major museums.

Originally planned in the late 1800s as an outgrowth of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, it was meant to be a center of education and research in science, art and natural history. At the time, Brooklyn was not yet incorporated into the City of New York, and the Brooklyn Museum was designed on a scale suited to the ambitions of the vibrant, rapidly-growing city. The massive Beaux Arts building was designed by McKim, Mead & White, then the preeminent architectural firm in the country, and was intended to be “the largest single museum structure in the world.”

The museum has amassed one of the world’s greatest Egyptian collections and is noted for its significant holdings of American and European paintings and more than two dozen American period rooms.

Like most public institutions, over the years the museum has struggled with budgetary constraints, changes in public tastes and shifting political fortunes. However, the Brooklyn Museum has also suffered from a long series of controversial policies and decisions. These range from the destruction of the significant architectural features (the results of ill-conceived attempts to renovate and modernize) to the outrage surrounding many of the choices made by museum director Arnold Lehman.

In recent years the museum’s efforts have shifted from a focus on education to an emphasis on finding ways to increase attendance. It has mounted large exhibits devoted to aspects popular culture including ‘Star Wars’ films, hip-hop performers, photographs of Marilyn Monroe and graffiti, where “hipness,” glitz and glitter were abundant while scholarship seemed to be in short supply.

I appreciate a museum showing me something new or unexpected (in fact, that’s one of the primary reasons I visit) but I want to understand what I’m seeing and why the museum has deemed it worthy of exhibition. And museum-going in New York isn’t cheap. I feel cheated if I have to spend money to reach a museum, pay an admission fee to get in and then find that, in order to learn about the show’s significance and historical context, I’d have to shell out $50 more for a copy of the catalog.

Regardless of whether the information is communicated through signs, brochures, audiotours, docents or some other means, I want to leave a museum feeling that I’ve learned something substantial. All too often, this hasn’t been my experience at the Brooklyn Museum and in response, I’ve stayed away.

However, on October 20, 2006, amidst much hype, the museum opened an exhibition of work by photographer Annie Liebovitz. For months I was able to withstand the ads that adorned every bus shelter and subway car touting the show, the accompanying book and the television documentary, but was unable to ignore the people who asked why I hadn’t yet seen the show. Finally, today, I succumbed to peer pressure and visited the Brooklyn Museum.

The museum must have seriously underestimated the effect their marketing efforts would have, because on this frigid day the entrance line stretched out the front door and down the block. Once inside, museum-goers waited to pay admission, then waited again for admittance to elevators that they went to exhibit floor (special elevators were reserved for members and VIPs), and finally queued up for admission to the rooms where 200 or so of Liebovitz’s photographs hung.

Although she is known primarily for her portraits of celebrities, the show also included photos of Liebovitz’s travels, friends and family. While most of her work was familiar, the surprise of the day appeared in an adjacent area where the startling, extraordinarily lifelike work of Australian sculptor Ron Mueck was displayed.

Two exhibits worth seeing, both diligently patrolled by guards who told visitors to please put away their cameras; taking photographs is forbidden. “Sorry,” they said, “but no pictures are allowed. It’s a museum policy.”

Iggy Pop by Annie Liebovitz
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Mick Jagger by Annie Liebovitz
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Nicole Kidman by Annie Liebovitz
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Susan at the House on Hedges Lane by Annie Liebovitz
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Mask by Ron Mueck
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Baby by Ron Mueck
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Big Man by Ron Mueck
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Brooklyn Museum
Ron Mueck at the Brooklyn Museum
Annie Leibovitz at the Brooklyn Museum
PBS American Masters: Annie Liebovitz
Annie Leibovitz at the Brooklyn Museum (Part 1)
Discord at Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum Offs Curatorial Depts
Loss of Curators’ Power Seen in Brooklyn Museum
Museum Recruited Donors Who Stood To Gain
Museum Group Adopts Guidelines on Sponsors
Art, Money & Control