The Whitney had a volunteer appreciation night, and we got a chance to see the 6th floor part of Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney's Collection before it opened to the public. Here are a couple of shots:
Julian Schnabel as a giant candle by Urs Fischer:
Floyd and me viewing an Andy Warhol
One of the outdoor sculptures, White Snow #3
Open House New York is one of my favorite local organizations. It provides a broad audience with access to the best of New York architecture, much of which is not usually open to the public. Their biggest event is Open House NY Weekend, which is in October, but they also offer programs throughout the year. I helped out at an event at the Brooklyn Historical Society in April. It's in a gorgeous building in neighborhood I'd never really explored, and I can't wait to go back.
I covet this library.
My friend, Erin, came to town in April and organized a trip to the top of One World Trade Center. She and our friend (and my former boss) Karen and I met up at the Loopy Doopy Bar on the roof of the Hotel Conrad, and then walked over to One World Trade to experience the best view in the city.
It's quite a spectacle from the entryway...
To your first view of the view...
To the incredible sunset-lit views of the city.
The two lighted squares below are the reflecting pools in the footprints of the Twin Towers.
Karen checking out the view toward home.
A view up the west side (and our apartment building, not that you can see it)
We spent a couple of days in LA in April as well. One of the best things about LA is that two of my favorite people live there (not to mention family members we didn't have time to visit this year). Favorite Person One, Neda, came to the bar after a long day at work to hang out with Ed and me.
This trip, we stayed at the Hotel Andaz, formerly known as the Riot Hyatt. It's a great property, located right on Sunset Strip. Tracy Pattin, a local writer, gave a short breakfast talk about the history of the hotel and the neighborhood. She also brought copies of West Hollywood Magazine, which had a local walking tour. So I spent my morning checking out the local hotspots and architecture. Most of the text below is taken from her article, though paraphrased and not quoted. This was like a trip back to my childhood, as the former residents were all major 30s and 40s movie stars my parents love and whose movies I grew up watching.
Pink Taco is the most recent manifestation of a building that was a wedding chapel and then became the Players Club, where Bogart, William Faulkner, Barbara Stanwyck, and Orson Welles used to hang out. Sinatra used to play here, then use a tunnel (unearthed in 2012) to head over to the Chateau Marmont to do a different kind of playing. :)
This villa was the home at one time of Marilyn Monroe, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Marlene Dietrich.
Mi Casa, a 1927 Spanish-style complex, was the home of Bette Davis, the Marx Brothers, and Cary Grant.
And Colonial House was the home of William Powell and Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, and Myrna Loy.
Not part of the tour, but the flowers in LA are just glorious.
The view from our pool (where I proceeded to fry myself lobster-red)
After dinner, we walked back up the Strip to the hotel to meet up with Ed and the rest of the crowd. I look kind of pained (probably because of the sunburn and accompanying chills), but the background is cool...
Back in New York, Ed had never been to the opera, and a colleague from work has been encouraging him to give it a shot. So he bought box seats for us to see Donizetti's Roberto Devereaux. The production was magnificent, and the whole cast was amazing, but soprano Sonya Radvanovsky was glorious. I'm not a huge opera fan (this was only my third), and I prefer tenors to sopranos, but she took my breath away and brought me to tears. Here's a shot of the stage from our seats:
In March and April each year, the High Line Art program installs the season's new collection. The group installation, called Wanderlust, "explores the themes of walking, journeys and pilgrimages." As usual, there are pieces I love, pieces I hate, and pieces I just don't understand at all. A few images:
Matt Johnson's Untitled (Swan), which was made from original High Line railroad track (that's a smokebush in the background, as well as the Whitney)
These bronze rods, by the artist Giorgio Andreotta Calo, are inserted between the planks throughout the park. They memorialize people who walked the length of the United States. The length of the rods corresponds to the length of the walk. (If you're on the park, see if you can find the one that has a major typo on it.)
A night shot of Rayyan Tabet's Steel Rings which will likely disappear into the plants in the next month or so:
Outside of Wanderlust are other installations to consider. Here is the artist, Nari Ward (in the fedora), assisting the HL Art team with the installation of his piece, Smart Tree.
Have fun exploring!
Melissa and I met on the High Line a number of years ago, and then she moved to England. She was in town this week for a visit, so we got to play. First stop, Coppelia for the fish tacos:
Since she'd just arrived that afternoon it was an early night. Day Two included a wander on the High Line. She took these photos of me with a couple of pieces from Wanderlust that are installed on the Flyover. Her question to you: Which one is NOT High Line art? :)
Sleeping bag with debris Bronze walking stick Bin filled with trash
Day three was drinks at Molloy's Pub in Hell's Kitchen, followed by The Woodsman, a play about the Tin Man's origin story. I've never seen anything like this show. Two of the main characters are (or become) puppets, and they're mesmerizing. There's very little dialogue, though there's lots of sound and a solo violinist who accompanies the show from the stage. The story is heartbreaking (no pun intended), though it does end on a somewhat upbeat note. The play isn't for everyone, but in my opinion, James Ortiz is a genius.
A close up of the Tin Man:
Finally, I got the chance to see Amanda Parer's Intrude, an installation of giant inflatable rabbits that inhabited Brookfield Place for two weeks. I loved them.
The 6-foot-tall security guard gives you some perspective on the size of this rabbit:
And that's it for April, 2016. Much more to come in May, including The America's Cup from the William Wall....
