Manic Midtown and Wild Williamsburg

                This week’s class began with a meeting at Penn Station as always. Before we headed to our first stop, Rockafeller Center. We walked around Time Square. At first, New York City was not every pedestrian friendly. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg, NYC has been converted into a better place for residents and visitors. It was because of Mayor Bloomberg that there has been an exponential increase in the amount of Parks and Recreational areas in New York City. Although many people believe that the new walkways are a positive change to the city, just as many people believe that it is a negative change. The newly installed walkways lessen the amount of roads for cars, and other vehicles to travel on. This leads to more traffic on the remaining streets.

                Personally I like the fact that the city is more pedestrian friendly. I feel that it will bring even more people into an already busy city. The increase in travelers will increase business for the stores and stands that are now within walking distance. The first stop landed us in Rockefeller Center: "a complex of commercial buildings  theaters, plazas, underground concourses and shops developed principally during the Depression" (BG p243).  The home of NBC studios, Rockefeller center offers more than just prime time television. In a sense it gives visitors the opportunity to step back in time. Walking through the building you can see the Art deco style throughout the halls. Art Deco was a style provided a futuristic look to those back then. Another site to see are the murals painted along the walls and ceilings. American Progress and Time; created by Josep Maria Sert . Sert’s mural replaced the original art done by Diego Rivera  entitled Man at the Crossroads. The mural was placed because Rivera had added an unapproved image of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin into a section portraying a May Day parade.

                The next stop was at the Museum of Modern Art also known as the MOMA. I enjoyed the this museum, but I enjoyed the MET more. One of the first paintings that were seen was the famous Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. What makes this painting amazing was that it was painted through the use of impressionism: a style that allows the artist to paint a picture based on an object as a person would see at first glance. Van Gogh’s inspiration came from the view of his bedroom window. He had painted the piece the day after he had seen the view. Another artist the pleasure to see was Pablo Picasso. He was famous cubism. One piece of art that stuck out was during the period of his “African influence”. The painting entitled “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” is a painting portraying five French prostitutes with two of them with faces resembling tribal masks.

                Although we saw an array of beautiful works of art, there was one piece that I did not like; “The Voice” by Barnett Newman. I can appreciate modern art that is very unorthodox such as Jackson Pollock’s drip technique and how he used the drips to express his emotion. I know that Newman was using the minimalism technique. However “the Voice” is a canvas with egg shell and enamel. In my opinion, there are so many artists out there that create amazing pieces with such intricate detail and technique. For a man to color a canvas white and have that hang up in one of the most famous museums in the world, makes me kind of angry.

                For lunch, we headed out to Hell’s Kitchen, an area known for their food. Unfortunately I was unable to eat at the Thai restaurant because of their use of peanuts. I did enjoy a philly cheesesteak from Papaya dog. The price you paid for the amount of food that was ordered was well worth it. After lunch we headed to the community museum in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The best way to describe it was a hole in the wall. It was the time of museum that carried the rich history of the city. For visitors, it allows them to learn about the history of the town. And for residents, it allows them to appreciate the roots of where they live. One thing that caught my eye was the turnstile that was from the original Yankee Stadium. Being a die-hard Yankee fan my entire life it was hard not to appreciate little things like that.

                One of my favorite places of the day was the Brooklyn Art Library. After signing up for my own library card we learned about their special program. With a donation of 25 dollars, the library sends you sketchbook where you can put any type of art. The books are then compiled and displayed all around the world. With my new library I was able to take out some sketchbooks sent by other artists. I used to draw a lot in my childhood days so seeing other people’s drawings inspired me to draw again. Our day ended a little late but well worth it. We ended at Beacons Closet, a thrift store in Williamsburg. We left late but the deals we got out of it were well worth it.