Museums, Galleries, Theater & Music in NYC

The arts is an engine in New York. It's one of the things that make this city great. We are free because of it. It epitomizes our hopes and desires, and it shows us who we are.

We took the liberty to bookmark the links for you. Here it is. Enjoy.
Museums
Galleries
Theater
Music
Events

Where to Dine in NYC

Book mark this! New Yorkers love to eat. We love to go out to eat, and we love find the best places, with the most interesting ambiance at various prices.

Here are the sites that I use to find where to go in my home town.

Yelp! Here I list my reviews for places to eat. It is a great user created reference on a variety places to visit as well.

Menu Pages List of restaurants with customer reviews, menus and more. Excellent resource!

Our favorites that we book marked on Delicious

Buen Provecho!

Photos from the Pinta Art Fair

We did go to the art fair. It was a lot fun and worth the visit. Here are pictures from the event.

Thanksgiving Day Parade 2009

Every third thursday in November is Thanksgiving. Here is a picture of Peter carving the turkey the last time we had a Thanksgiving dinner at our loft. We cooked two turkeys and served dinner to about 20 people. This year will be another adventure. For us this holiday is about family and friends. About slowing down, watching a parade, watching football, setting up the table and sharing a meal with the people you know, and the people you are getting to know. It is about family and friends.

In New York we start off the holiday with the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Information can be found here. The parade starts at 9AM so we suggest you get there early for a good view or else you can catch it on TV. Right after the holiday is Black friday, the start of Christmas shopping. Hold on to your wallet! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Artists at work should read Joanne Mattera

For almost the past year Joanne Mattera, a fantastic artist and writer has been writing a series on how artist and galleries have been surviving in this difficult economic climate. If you are an artist, a collector or just interested in the art market I can't help but recommend that you read and follow this series, Marketing Mondays.

Pinta Art Fair Nov. 19 to 22 on Latin American Art

The annual Pinta Art Fair is back. It is an art fair coinciding with the Latin American art auctions at Christies and Sothebys. The Art fair brings together under one roof prominent Latin American artists and galleries. It is worth a visit if you are interested in Latin American Art or are just curious . Let me know what you think.

New York City Airports

For those who are planning a trip to New York and are looking for information on how to get to and from the airport, here is one link to bookmark them all!

JFK Airport

Newark Liberty Airport

LaGuardia Airport

Travel directions and tips try Hopstop New York

For finding parking go here this a great site.

Watteau: music and theater. through Nov 29 Vermeer’s Masterpiece: The Milkmaid through Nov 29

Metropolitan Museum of Art

For me Watteau seems like the kind of artist that's hard to not like. Maybe it's because I've been kind of obsessed with him for the last year or two, but this exhibition is to honor former director Philippe de Montebello, who called Watteau one of his favorite artists. So, apparently I'm not the only one. Watteau has a reputation as the master of sophisticated hedonism. I didn't make that up. I know I read that somewhere, and it seems pretty accurate. Toulouse-Lautrec may have been more of a hedonist, but Wateau was more sophisticated. I'm talking about the painting, not necessarily the subject matter. Watteau's subjects just look like they had more money than Toulouse-Lautrec's.

Anyway, this is a pretty small show that consists of just two rooms. One of drawings, and the other of paintings. Still, there are some real jewels to be found. Also, about a third of the work is not by Watteau but his contemporaries. This is to illustrate the artists influence on 18th century france, but it also draws attention to the qualitative difference between the work of some very skilled artists and that of an old master. The only artist who comes close to Watteau is Nicolas Lancret, who has some pretty impressive work in the show.

Watteau died very young at 37 which accounts for his somewhat small body of paintings, but he was a copious draftsman. Thank god for that, because he was magic with the colored chalk. Most of his drawings were done as studies for his paintings, but his light handed effortless way of rendering makes them stand out from his contemporaries, and function as independent works of art. His paintings also have a subtle elegance that makes them exceptional. He's as famous for his pallet of silvery greens and soft pinks as for his strange theatrical narratives. The interaction of his figures are enigmatic and appear almost otherworldly. These scenarios and the characters that make them up were based on the commedia dell'arte for which Watteau had once worked as a set and costume designer, and figures like Harlequin, Mezzetin, and Pierrot are staples in his work. He used these figures, and narratives to create a new genre of painting called the Fete Galante, which became very popular throuout Europe after his death in 1721.

Vermeer died soon before Watteau was born, which is just as well because I don't think they would have gotten along with each other anyway. Although, they did have a few things in common. They both died young (Vermeer at 45 and Watteau at 37). They both painted relatively small paintings with kind of dreamy ethereal narratives, and they both became hugely influential after their death. Watteau's painterliness, and exoticism though is in stark contrast to Vermeer's precise detailed studies of light and form, and his focus on humble everyday people and objects.

This show is similar though, in that it's small and made up largely of other artists work. Actually, in this case most of the work is by other artists and there are only 6 Vermeer's in the whole show including "The Milkmaid" which is on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. that's not too bad though considering that there are only about 35 Vermeer's known to exist in the world. All the other work in the show is part of the Met's permanent collection including the five other Vermeer's, which can be seen on exhibition all the time anyway. The show was put together to celebrate the anniversary of Henry Hudson doing something important. I can't remember what. Anyway, "The Milkmaid" is a beautiful painting, but I don't think it's his best. I don't think it's as good as "The Girl With A Pearl Earring", and it's certainly not as good as "View of Delft", but neither one of those are in the show.

Both these shows are closing pretty soon, so if you want to see them you've got to get off your ass and get over there. I probably should have reviewed them earlier, but you know I've got things to do.

Photos of Halloween Parade 2009

Here is what I saw on October 31 in NYC. Photos by Giuliana and me. I hope you like. It was fun and wet!

Mr.Adam in pictures

Mr.Adam - 079.JPG,
originally uploaded by ramper67.

Mr. Adam has lots of friends. Here is a link to photos of him on my Flickr page. Yes, I am pimping him, but I can't help it, he is such a good boy!

http://makada.net/Site/Mr_Adam_Fan_Page.html