Brooklyn and Back (And a lot of Manhattan too!)

Well, I made it to Brooklyn this time. Saw some amazing people, museums, and I understand NYC/Brooklyn much more than I did. All in all, mission accomplished!

I stayed with Dave on Monday and Wednesday night, and even got to spend some time with him during the day! My AAM card lets me in to any AAM Museum (and others too!) for free, sometimes with a guest too! So I ended up going to 10 museums in 4 days, and Dave got to go to some with me, including the Guggenheim!

The MET is always a good time, and I always end up seeing a new Alfred Emile Stevens painting! He's one of my favorites, and I can't find a book of his work anywhere. I can usually spot him a mile away too!
This lovely work is by Kees van Dongen. I am so in lust with these color choices! (Even more intense in person of course)

I took a walk around the Reservoir while headed to the West side, and took some shots along the way.

I had just enough time to run through the Natural History Museum before having to head back to the Gug, who were nice enough to hold my bag while I toured the city without it for a bit.

Then Kayla was so great, she came in to the city after work to pick me up and we had dinner in Chinatown which was delicious (shrimp in eggrolls! genius!)

Then I went to meet Lizzy Zevallos at a Fringe show that her friend wrote called Tiny Geniuses. Hadn't seen Lizzy since high school: she's the same, but better! Every aspect of the play was simply AMAZING: from the IKEA set, to the actors, to the spectacularly written over-the-top witty dialogue... I wish I could see it again! And best yet, Lizzy knows the girl who wrote it: Emily Feldman. Awesome.
I stayed with Lizzy and her roommate Christina, and their cat Blinkn. View from out their bathroom window:






It was raining a lot, and luckily on Wednesday morning, Dave was home so I could drop my stuff off at his place. Then I took him to the MOMA

How he loves his art!

I really loved this Matisse. I couldn't look away. I need to paint more nudes. (!!!!!!!) (And this particular painting wasn't even at the big Matisse show (on the 4th floor?), and that was really good. We were pretty tired, so I just ran through it while Dave rested outside. It was like a miniature depiction of my week, just running around looking at art smiling wildly and feeling a little bit insane and a lotta bit excited.)

Finally saw a Kara Walker in person! It was really amazing.

Dave left and I hit up the American Folk Museum, sort of just breezed through it, but it was interesting. Then I met him for his fringe show, In the Schoolyard. Not so much my cup of tea, but enjoyable nonetheless. And I got to see two fringe shows! Talk about an education!

Thursday morning I got to see Mark Pruce for breakfast! I have waited YEARS to see him again. What a great kid, and engaged too! Lucky gal. I'll meet her someday soon too!

Then I booked it to the New Museum, where I couldn't take any photos, but had a really good time there too. The space is amazing! Ran to the Whitney, and had an amazing time. I had only been there for the 60s show a few years ago, but was awesome (really, how many other words are as pure as "amazing" and "awesome"?)

Then bolted (note use of increasingly hurried adjectives, as my time in NYC runs short!) to the Frick where I finally saw Ingres' Contesse d'Haussonville... and cried. Like a sap. I didn't expect to, but I love him.

And the Neue Museum. I remembered my love for Schiele and Klimt, as well as discovered George Minne, and educated myself in Otto Dix, of whom I had remained mostly ignorant through my art education.

Thursday night was spent at Ashley Lloyd's, and we went to dinner with her friend Jeremy (how we never met during our years at MICA is beyond me!) and went to a real Brooklyn bar, and then crashed. I saw Chelsea for a minute, and Selina for a bit longer.

(Be cool, make serious faces.)

One more museum: The Brooklyn Museum. It was so much bigger than I was expecting!




And I had forgotten about their Warhol exhibit. I have also been rather ignorant of him, passing him off as "that pop artist" but now I know better!



Then some Kiki Smith, although perhaps I didn't spend enough time with her.


Larry Rivers



And even got to see Judy Chicago's The Dinner Table!!!! It was really the icing on the cake!
Vadis Turner
And even some Louise Bourgeois.


I'm exhausted all over again. Or should I say, inspired? Studio time!