August 14, 2006
Many tourists ask how they can see as many museum shows in one day as possible. While this can be utterly exhausting as well as impractical, I do understand that for visitors with little time, there is so much to see and do. Certainly this summer proves to be no exception, with such a fantastic array of shows at the larger museums. Since so many galleries are closed in August, I'll focus on major museums. Here is a suggested itinerary, best accomplished early on a Sunday morning, although any other day except Monday (when most museums are closed) works as well. (Note: MoMA is closed Tuesdays.)
Begin your morning with a very early breakfast and perhaps a walk through Central Park or up Fifth Avenue to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a number of fascinating shows await you. A good strategy would be to see parts of the permanent collection in between these three shows. Arrive promptly at 9:30, when the museum opens. You'll be rewarded with an empty museum and have entire galleries to yourself. (If you want to do some advance planning, download the floor plans.) Remember to bring as little with possible (backpacks, water bottles, etc.) so you can walk around without being burdened by these things. Pay admission at the central desk and proceeded across the main floor to the back of the museum, stopping at the Medieval Sculpture Hall for a few minutes to examine these many wonders. Then take a right and see the Anglo Mania show, featuring terrific British punk rock fashions.
After viewing Anglo Mania, proceed westward to Modern Art—ask a guard if you are lost—and go upstairs to see Gustav Klimt's stunning Mäda Primavesi (1912) on display in the hallway. If you are utterly enchanted with this painting, you'll want to consider whether to see the recent acquisition of Klimt's Adele Bloch-Bauer I at the nearby Neue Galerie after your visit to the Metropolitan. Proceeding down this hallway on the second floor, you'll visit the exhibit Treasures of Sacred Maya Kings, which has stunning examples of Maya art as well as good descriptions of the cultural context of these pieces. By now it should be 10 o'clock, and more galleries will be open if you've come on a Sunday morning. You might choose to see more modern art, or even go down one level in the modern art collection to the mezzanine, where many Klimt drawings are presently on display. Or instead visit the European paintings collection for masterworks of the 19th century. In a small gallery near the European collection is a show of photographs that pay homage to Susan Sontag and her seminal writings On Photography.
At this point, it's time for a break, and combining a mid-morning coffee or juice break on the rooftop garden along with the fantastic works of Cai Guo-Qiang is in order. Ask a guard to help you find the elevator to the roof, and be rewarded with stunning views of Manhattan as well as these three clever installations, Nontransparent Monument, Move Along, Nothing to See Here, and Transparent Monument. You might choose to stay up here until noon, when the artist's Clear Sky Black Cloud is launched, which entails an actual black cloud appearing above the Roof Garden. Or perhaps see the Egyptian collection and the extraordinary Temple of Dendur and Tomb of Perneb.
While you could easily spend the entire day—or several days—at the Met, you will now reconsider whether you want to stop in at the Neue Galerie, or perhaps go see the astounding Zaha Hadid and Jackson Pollock shows at the Guggenheim.
My advice would be for those with little time to instead head directly to the Museum of Modern Art, either by taxi or by bus (which stops right in front of the Met Museum and proceeds down Fifth Avenue). If you have been especially quick at the Met, arriving at MoMA just after the 10:30 opening will ensure you can view the galleries (which tend to get rather cramped) and special exhibits minus the crowds. (You might also wish to download the floor plans in advance of your visit.) I recommend you start on the sixth floor and work your way down. The Dada show merits a significant amount of your time, as this retrospective encompasses so many artists and numerous noteworthy works. Then proceed down to the fifth and fourth floors for the most impressive works of painting and sculpture in the collection. On the third floor, do visit the Herzog & de Meuron: Perception Restrained exhibit, which also contains numerous objects from the collection, curated in a most clever manner by these famed Swiss architects.
Perhaps it is time for lunch, and you might visit MoMA's café or instead head outside to the sculpture garden for a stroll around and a beverage? In addition, you may instead opt to consider a quick visit to the newly-reopened Morgan Library and Museum, if only to see the stunning design or perhaps to visit the restaurant or gift shop?
Finally, with four outstanding exhibits at the International Center of Photography, with important works by Weegee, Atta Kim, Atget and Marianne Brandt, you would not want to omit the ICP. From MoMA, head down 53rd Street to Sixth Avenue, and walk ten blocks south. After you've seen these four shows at the ICP, reward yourself with an afternoon nap and then reconsider visiting some of the other phenomenal museums in Manhattan.
Tags:
anglomania, Atget, Atta Kim, cai guo qiang, dada, guggenheim, gustav klimt, international center of photography, Marianne Brandt, maya, met, museum of modern art, neue gallerie, susan sontag, temple of dendur, Weegee
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Posted on 8/14/2006
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August 03, 2006
The Neue Galerie has on exhibit five paintings from the collection of Ferdinand and Adele-Bloch Bauer looted by the Nazis and only recently obtained by heir Maria Altmann after decades of battles with the Austrian government. Doubtless you have read about this best-known Klimt, "Adele Bloch-Bauer I," recently acquired by Ronald Lauder for the Neue Galerie at the estimated princely sum of $135 million. Was it a foregone conclusion that Lauder would obtain this painting, or that it will be the centerpiece of a reconstituted Neue Galerie? Perhaps.
But I find the recent discussion about Expressionist art, in particular regarding the forthcoming auction of the spectacular Ernst-Ludwig Kirchner painting "Street Scene, Berlin," to be a tad much. Perhaps Expressionist art is indeed the next big thing in this "global market," but I find the endless chirping about the commodification of paintings and the outrageous prices they fetch rather vulgar.
Moreover, I find this observation a trifle wanting: The appetite for German and Austrian Expressionist art has grown in recent years, making the timing of the return of the Kirchner fortuitous for the seller. Only a decade ago many collectors, especially Americans, were simply not interested in Kirchner or other Expressionists, who were sold mostly in Europe. For it has been exactly 20 years since the blockbuster exhibit "Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture & Design" at MoMA, and in 1986 Galerie St. Etienne also hosted a major exhibit, "Viennese Design and the Wiener Werkstätte," which overlapped with the MoMA show for one month. While some of today's acquisitive collectors or art critics might not remember those two shows, they were indeed wildly popular. Bear in mind, it was Ronald Lauder and the Lauder family that made the stellar MoMA exhibit possible 20 years ago, and therefore his acquisition might be seen in that context. Stated differently, the Neue Galerie simply had to have it.
While you won't see the enchanting females of Klimt's "Frizta Riedler" (1906), "The Kiss" (1907-8), or "Hope II" (1907-8) within the context of these five paintings, you will be able to see "Adele Bloch-Bauer II" (1912) as well. However, it's a pity, because the details of all the aforementioned paintings are so intricate, so exquisite, and so very representative of Klimt's style at the time. Klimt was the son of a goldsmith, which perhaps explains his love for the decorative arts, and perhaps why the human form was subordinate to his penchant for ornamentation. While the body types and features of all these ladies are rather unflattering, it is the extraordinary array of shapes and colors surrounding them that make them so spectacular, so majestic, even otherworldly. Such gilding as can be seen on "Adele Bloch-Bauer I" is seldom seen outside the realm of Buddhist devotional art. A quick visit to the nearby Metropolitan Museum to see Klimt's Mäda Primavesi (1912) and some of his works on paper would further set these paintings in context.
Tags:
adele bloch bauer, galerie saint etienne, gustav klimt, maria altmann, moma, neue galerie
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Posted on 8/3/2006
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