The rain managed to stay away for most of the day, so this afternoon I took advantage and headed to Prince Street and West Broadway to serenade Rachel – on a piano in the street. Eighty-eight pianos (referring to the number of keys) have been dropped in public places across the city by Sing For Hope …
Read MoreCategory / Art
June 10, 2013
…was impressed by a student art show
It’s another drizzly Monday, which means all outdoor activities ever planned have been cancelled. But thankfully there’s no shortage of new art shows in NYC to keep me busy and out of the rain. Tonight I popped up to the School of Visual Arts to check out a show featuring work by recent graduates and …
Read MoreJune 3, 2013
…felt inspired by the Drawing Center
Another rainy day. Another cancelled event. But thankfully SoHo is brimming full of places to shelter from the drizzle. Today I nipped to the Drawing Center just in time to catch its Giosetta Fioroni exhibit before its close. Even though I walk past the gallery most lunchtimes, the glass-fronted space blends in a little too neatly, so I’d …
Read MoreJune 1, 2013
…made a mug
After getting to bed after sunrise this morning, it was time for a quieter evening. I headed to La Mano Pottery in Chelsea where I kept my eyes open long enough to make a wonky, bumpy mug. And I couldn’t be prouder. I took part in the Introduction to Hand Building class and, perhaps because of …
Read MoreMay 26, 2013
…visited the Whitney Museum (and Edward Hopper’s house)
For many of these new things, I feel like I’m in a rush. But this morning when I woke up groggy from last night’s karaoke fest, I had a glorious realisation: For the first time in many months, I had nothing to do and nowhere to be. It meant that when I scooted up to the …
Read MoreMay 21, 2013
…saw the world’s biggest crochet
Well, it appears that I can’t tell the time, so I missed a poetry event I had planned tonight. Thankfully this is New York and there is always plenty of last-minute – and free – stuff going on. I jumped on the Q to Madison Square Park to see their latest outdoor art exhibit, Red, Yellow and …
Read MoreMay 8, 2013
…went to the New York City Ballet
Due to the rain earlier today, my event for tonight was cancelled. But in a sign of how great New York is at accommodating boredom, within moments I’d booked a ticket to the ballet at the Lincoln Center – for a sweet $22. However, I inadvertently bought a ticket for the black tie gala night …
Read MoreMay 2, 2013
…went to a Tracey Emin art opening
Before Helen and I headed to the Tracey Emin art opening at the Lehmann Maupin gallery on the Lower East Side, I worried we’d not be able to get in. I envisioned swarms of black-clad waifs with peroxide pixie cuts and piercings lining the streets. And me sticking out like a sore thumb in my summer dress. …
Read MoreApril 10, 2013
…saw buildings roll down Park Avenue (kind of)
Everyone knows the Manhattan skyline – even if, like me, they sometimes muddle the Chrysler and Empire State Building (true story). As a landscape that’s so recognizable, it’s ample ground for artists to meddle with. And tonight I went to Park Avenue between 48th and 68th to see Alexandre Arrechea’s take. Arrechea melds the buildings – such as the …
Read MoreApril 4, 2013
…visited a gallery on my lunchbreak
Usually lunchtime is a quick nip to a nearby deli, perhaps a walk around the block and then back to my desk. All within 15 minutes. But I’d seen there was a new exhibit at the Swiss Institute just a block away and I feared I wouldn’t make the 6pm closing time, so I decided to go there …
Read MoreMarch 27, 2013
…sat for a portrait in Central Park
I’ve been visiting a lot of art since starting this blog – MoMA, the New Museum, street art – but what about me and my picture perfect mug? I spotted some artists in Central Park today and decided to get a portrait. I approached one friendly-faced man and asked if he’d paint me like one of …
Read MoreMarch 21, 2013
…travelled back in time (to New York in 1993)
Tonight I went back in time – twenty years, to be exact – to see a New York of days gone by. The New Museum on the Bowery is currently showcasing art from 1993 – almost like a time capsule – that gives a brilliant insight into what was on the mind of New Yorkers …
Read MoreMarch 15, 2013
…looked over London from the top of The Shard
After going to the Empire State Building last week and overlooking Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat this week, today I completed the hat-trick. I visited the top of the newly-opened Shard in London so I could look over my capital city. With a view like this, it makes one wonder how somebody could possibly not want …
Read MoreMarch 3, 2013
…went on a graffiti tour
While I’ve admired a lot of street art since being in New York, I’ve always seen tags and sprayed names as a sloppy mess on the city’s streets. But today, after taking a great graffiti tour, I can finally appreciate their origins and purpose. The walking tour was hosted by Grafftours and snaked through the East Village, Lower East …
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2013
…devised a Subway art tour
Whenever I’m using the subway, I’m in a rush. My head is always down – either to gawk at my phone or to avoid eye contact with the creeper in the corner. But when I looked up for a brief moment at 23rd Street last week, I realised that there were hats painted on the …
Read MoreFebruary 27, 2013
…saw photos by Allen Ginsberg
In my post-cocktail fog this morning, I splurged on a camera thinking that it’s about time this blog had some semi decent photos. So in the two days it should take for it to arrive, I’m seeking some tips and inspiration. Tonight I went to an exhibition of photography by Allen Ginsberg at NYU’s Grey …
Read MoreFebruary 22, 2013
…watched a latte art competition
A month ago, one of my favourite coffee shops, Oslo, was gutted by a fire in the middle of the day, rocking the small chain, the Williamsburg neighbourhood and the coffee community. As the company battled to get back on its feet after such a massive loss, they decided to make some cash the best …
Read MoreFebruary 16, 2013
…went to Williamsburg Fashion Weekend
I’ve drunk a few too many cherry vodka-flavored soda water cranberry things, so this will be short and sweet. But you know what I learned tonight? That – if I hadn’t already predicted it – the Williamsburg Fashion Weekend is a bit weird. We gathered in The Space on N 3rd and Wythe to see …
Read MoreFebruary 1, 2013
…went to see can-struction works
That ‘balloon animal’ is actually made of cans. Crabmeat cans to be precise. And it’s just one of 28 sculptures made out of non-perishables on display at the World Financial Center to encourage people to donate food as part of a massive food drive.
Read MoreJanuary 25, 2013
…saw ‘The Scream’ up close
The Museum of Modern Art has free entry on a Friday evening so, after work, I jumped on the E train and shuffled through the snow to claim my ticket. Aside from saving $25, the real draw was seeing Edvard Munch’s The Scream up close. Or so I’d hoped. Everyone else in the city apparently …
Read MoreJanuary 21, 2013
…saw Buckyball
The bank called to ask whether I’d tried to spend $800 at one of the online casinos uk. Luckily they guessed the chances were slim. While I’ve always been interested in something like a paypal casino, this particular effort was not my doing. Now thanks to my entire lack of a contingency plan (and my …
Read MoreJanuary 8, 2013
…saw an art exhibit created on Death Row
What would any of us do if we were locked up on Death Row for nearly two decades for a heinous crime we did not commit? How would we spend our days? How would we stay sane? For Damien Echols, one of the ‘West Memphis 3’ falsely convicted of murdering three young boys in 1993, a spiritual …
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