I'm really loving this book. For many reasons really. One being that it's a collection of stories set in and about New York in 1974 and I'm still swooning from my visit there last year. And the 70's were a really interesting decade for that city. Another being that Irish born Colum McCann is a brilliant story teller who deserves to be praised at any chance. One more reason to love this book is because it's a collection of short stories, a form I find really portable and accessible when I'm busy and can't keep my head in a traditional novel.
Have you heard of a fab new indie film called Handmade Nation? I first came across this wonderful piece of crafty film goodness when I was in New York last June (yes, I DO love saying that :) and I blogged about it a bit here. In 2006, Faythe Levine, a filmaker, travelled around the US interviewing more than 50 crafters and made a documentary film on the rise of DIY and the new wave of art, craft and design and Handmade Nation is the end result. I thought living in Australia I might never lay eyes on this indie film delight, but gladly I can say I was wrong. It's here right now in Melbourne! But to see it you have to go to the Melbourne Stitches & Craft Show where they're premiering the film at multiple times over multiple days until 15th March. Now, I'm not a sewer, and not all that interested in it either, though I love textiles and salivate instantly over gorgeous textile designs, so when I realised that in order to see Handmade Nation I was going to have to attend the Show I was a little bit hesitant, to say the least. But I've since been convinced that it might be ok because there will be some lovely textile design folk there like Aunty Cookie and I&S. And if you live in Brisbane and Sydney it looks like you're in luck because the Show is going there too and no doubt so will Handmade Nation. But seriously check out the Handmade Nation website as it has really cool things linked to it including this one to their trailer.
Etsy had a prominent stall there which is good to see. And I also recognised some etsy sellers there like Tugboat Prints and Fun Cupcake. There were lots of really cool screen printed tees being sold and the vibe of the market generally was great. It reminded me of the Rose St Artist Market in Melbourne but about 5-6 times the size!
It's lovely to have a bit more green space around us in Brooklyn. We moved over here today (the very funky Park Slope area) from Manhattan because there's a lot going on in this neighbourhood over the next week that we want to get to. Also we have a friend who lives here and swears that this is where all the interesting stuff in New York is happening. So far it looks fantastic.
Quite a number of people were having a go at printing on fabric swatches using carved potatoes, lino blocks, and paper stencils. And others were checking out Lotta's beautiful products and books and standing around chatting and drinking wine. I bought one her new books and even have it signed :) Now how nice is that? I can tell already that I'm not going to want to go home in a week's time.
We accidentally ended up at the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) because the Whitney was closed on Tuesday unlike other major museums and galleries in the area. But oh, what a wonderful accident that turned out to be! The Met is an enormously beautiful treasure trove of art and I got to walk around in it for 7 hours. And the location (wow!) on 5th Ave, sitting on the edge of Central Park, is breathtaking from the rooftop garden (see image below).
One of our motivations for going there was to get out of the heat. It nearly killed me to take this photo on the roof. It was almost too hot to focus through the camera.
And there are many, many other wonderful installations, and exhibits of sculpture and photography to see. And the building itself is just pure joy - we sat and ate our lunch under these huge domes in the great hall.
One thing that seems to be lacking is the works on paper section of the museum. There are some big name pop art screen prints, but generally this section is quite small, which is the case in most major museums I've visited. Having said that I almost forgot to say that the first image in this post was a lovely discovery for me: a 1964 etching by Jim Dine, Bathrobe.
If you live in NY or even just visit like me you'll spend a lot of time taking the subway from place to place. Being underground means you don't get to see all the street life around as you pass by on the train. Fortunately though, there is a huge amount of subway art to be explored, especially in Manhattan. The first image above is from the World Trade Centre station (or as the driver announced 'Ground Zero'). I really quite like the mosaic work in this eye. There are plenty more to be seen here. The artist is Jones/Ginzel and it's titled 'Oculus' and was made in 1998. The second piece of subway art is called 'CommUnion' and is by Emmett Wigglesworth, 1994, and is located on Union St near 4th Ave. If you want to see more NYC subway art go take a look at this wonderful site: the Subway Art Guide. Also this great article by Roberta Smith: The Rush Hour Revelations of an Underground Museum.
The MoMA was great yesterday but somehow all those famous paintings just started to wash over me after a while, despite the gorgeous building and location. Today was different though. I saw the woodblock prints of Zhang Huan at Pace Prints in Chelsea and fell in love with his work (see his print above). His works are large in scale (the one above is 40 x 67 inches) which any printmaker will tell you is difficult to do. He also works quite loosely and it looks like he carves on very large, rough pieces of wood, giving his prints lots of texture. The print above is just beautiful. And being a dragonfly devotee I was especially taken with it.
And for ceramic lovers I found Kai Tsujimura's work at Ippodo Gallery in Chelsea also. Kai's fragile, earthy ceramics and this gallery were lovely to discover because I developed quite an appetite for Japanese ceramics while living in Kyoto.
Yesterday was spent wandering the streets of Soho with a guide book (Memorable Walks in New York) loaned to me by a friend who lived here a decade ago. Enough said I suppose, but I just couldn't believe how much things have changed to the point where the art trail just wasn't going to work with about 95% of the places having moved or closed. But that's ok because a few great places like Artist Space still exist and was a lot of fun. And The Drawing Centre is still there too. The current exhibition uses a really wonderful way of displaying works on paper (image above). The curvy stand was designed by an architect and brings the work up really close for the viewer.
I loved some of the streets in Soho: Prince St, Spring St, Sullivan St (so leafy and lovely), Elizabeth and Mott Streets. I was particularly in love with all those old buildings which used to be artist lofts in the '60's and 70's but now house very expensive apartments. Roaming the streets turned up some interesting finds like the Apple store on Prince St which has to be seen to be believed.
Yesterday I visited The Old Print Shop in midtown Manhattan and it was a real treat for the printmaker and paper freak in me. The Shop has been there for over 100 years and has old botanical prints stored in antique drawers and cupboards. The second floor is devoted to contemporary printmakers and it was here that I discovered the work of Su-Li Hung. This is one her prints pictured above, The Apples, just delightful. I also loved one her prints called Silk, but the digital image doesn't adequately capture the raw quality of the real print. The staff at The Shop are really friendly and knowledgeable, particularly Michael Di Cerbo, an etching artist who has lived in NY for 40 years.
I've wanted to see the Flatiron Building for so so long and today I did! We're in Manhattan and boy is it fun. It's good to see the 27 hour journey from Melbourne to New York didn't kill my enthusiasm for the Big Apple despite lack of sleep and season lag (it's quite warm here after coming from autumn in Melbourne). Anyway, the Flatiron Building got my full attention this afternoon as I stood like a nutty tourist on the medium strip in the centre of Fifth Ave and photographed it. I thought the sepia tone I chose for this photo above worked to capture all that texture on the building.
Pockets of northern light, in rows of circles, peeping through the blinds this morning. I love the soft strength of the light in autumn. The days are tinged with a yellow, gentleness not seen in harsh summer sunlight. The mornings are crisp (2 degrees here yesterday morning) but later the sun comes up and warms everything. I love living in Melbourne because we actually have a winter. Many parts of Australia don't. I love the distinctness of moving from summer into autumn and then winter. The fact that we wear different clothes and can rug up. And the cosiness of drinking hot chocolate in cafes and bars with open log fires.
This is where I'm going in 9 days time! Woohooo, can't wait. I've never been to New York before so you can imagine my excitement. I've only ever been to the USA once and that was to Arizona and New Mexico, two states that are very different from the big apple. The list of galleries to visit is endless but so much fun to think about and plan. And thanks to this amazing little book, we'll be checking out some wonderful places suggested by artists, designers, actors, architects, filmmakers and gourmets. My kind of guide book!
A new giclee print from me. I'm going to New York for the first time ever in June and because I'm thinking about it so much little images of it are starting to appear in my work.
