the guggenheim & my sister's visit

As noted in my last blog entry, my sister was in town for a visit. It was her first time in the city since high school, a good 16 years or so. Needless to say, things have changed a LOT since then.

She was here mostly to relax. This translated into spending copious amounts of time at my apartment vegging out and chatting on the sofa. We did venture out to scope out my neighborhood, the local park and to grab some yummy food. The pair of us became especially enamored with the local Moroccan restaurant and the diner down the street. We also spent several hours at the Guggenheim, checking out the Picassos and Van Goghs. My beloved Gauguin was on display as well.

We also spent some time strolling around a posh neighborhood of Manhattan, marveling at the old ladies and their $500 handbags and pedigreed poodles. We bumped elbows with European tourists, looked at the wares being sold by street vendors, and sipped coffee at Starbucks. All in all, not a bad trip.

I should linger a little longer on the phenomenon that is the Guggenheim. It is a marvelous building built in the shape of a spiral. You wind your way through the museum by walking up ramps that coil in a circle around the inside perimeter of the building. Upon reaching the top most tier, you have a dizzying sensation that you could easily fall off and onto the ground floor far below. This is unlikely, of course, but it's a feeling that is hard to shake, especially if you're afraid of heights like I am.

I wasn't crazy about the special exhibits on display during this past visit. I'd been to the Russia! show that was on about a year ago and had loved it. This time the Guggenheim was hosting very modern artwork with all sorts of concepts that I didn't get. I stopped trying after about the fourth or fifth piece that made zero sense to me.

The coolest installation was a room that had a flashing disco floor that was lit up with what looked to be LED lights. Hip hop blared from two speakers located at opposite ends of the space. People were dancing, posing for photos and staring in awe at the sight. Naturally my sister and I snapped some photos of it. We posed like maniacs in all of the photos. Good times.

One other exhibit that caught our attention was that of the Italian divisionist artists. The paintings were beautiful and often had a social message about poverty and the working conditions of the poor. As a social science major, I appreciated that, and my sister, who also majored in a social science in grad school, liked that aspect of the art as well.

The best thing about the Guggenheim are the permanent galleries. They are filled with all kinds of invaluable artwork, including Kandinskys and Seurats. There is something amazing about going up to a famous piece of art and staring at the original brush strokes of a master painter. Bronze sculptures by Degas (and his little ballerinas) are especially amazing to look at up close. Every artists has a different brush stroke, and it was interesting to compare Van Gogh's with a lesser known artist.

I feel sorry for the security guards posted all around the building. Actually, I'm not even sure they're security. They might be poor souls stationed around to prevent people from touching the art work. Whatever purpose they serve, it isn't a fun one. They all have a similar expression on their face -- one of glazed indifference and sheer boredom. One woman's face reminded me of a martyred saint's. She looked so miserable and tortured that I wanted to go up to her and tell her, "At least you're getting paid to stand around on your feet all day. I paid to do this to myself!"

The museum store is worth a visit. Everything is overpriced in there, but they have a great selection of posters and postcards. I scooped up a handful of cards to add to my ever growing collection.

At any rate, my sister had a lovely time there. She bought a poster and enjoyed seeing all the different artists. We were very ready to leave once we had finished our tour of the building, however. It is implausibly exhausting to walk around and stare at art.

Some links to the museum's web page and a few of the artists on display at the Guggenheim:

The Guggenheim's Official Website

Franz Marc (one of my favorites)

Pablo Picasso

Georges Seurat

Wassily Kandinsky

Paul Gauguin
Edward Degas