Museum of Modern.....Art??? - Riiight

Okay, so Dad has this trip to NYC. Anyone who has heard me go on and on and on about NYC knows that is MY city. I love that place. I cannot understand people who are afraid of it or who criticize me for bringing my kids there. It's beautiful, it's energetic, there's always something to do. It's marvelous.

I love all the sites everyone goes to see. Touched the Statue of Liberty. Why? Cause I didn't travel that far just to look at her. She's mine as much as anyone else's and I wanted to. So I did. The history on her is amazing.

Met with some neat people. Many of the same that were in Finland except THIS time, Keith was there. KEITH! We love Keith. He and his sister are such a joy to be around. There are those few rare people that you meet in life that just seem to cheer you up and make you feel like the world is right. He's such a card.

When we got into the great city, we actually went walking around. Dad had one free day without meetings so we went walking around and seeing things. Oh the stores and sites. There is this one store that a person such as I should NOT be allowed to enter for the safety of the items being sold. All of these carvings of Jade. The intricate detail and time that was put into these masterpieces. All that day I was kicking myself for not having brought my camera. How can I be so forgetful?

There was a few pieces that were just huge. Carved in this Chinese, Japanese fashion. Forgive me for not knowing the difference. But they were beautiful. However, they were white and not Jade. I asked the fellow at the front and you aren't going to believe this. It's elephant bone. Not elephant tusk, but elephant bone. Like their hip or something. They go to the elephant grave yards and collect it.

I have always wanted to go to FAO Swartz. The big piano that Tom Hanks plays on Big was there and these people get payed to play all day. Two fellows were doing Mozart on this huge keyboard streatched out on the floor. There were stuffed animals that were life sized, like the giarraff. It was only $10,000 if you want it. There was a skateboard that was just a pipe in the middle and the edges rock back and forth, which is how you power it forward. This fellow was a pro at making go all around the store and even was teaching other kids how to do it. There was carpet skis, moon shoes, a man that could fix any mess you made of a rubix cube - based on a mathematical equation (he had the solution for a few coins of course), and excersize piece that was given forward momentum to how hard you pushed forward on the bar. You were actually playing a computer game with the excersize bar. Neat. Got one for eating chocolates?

We ate at the resturaunt Balthazars. This is the one we ate at the first time I was priveldged to join Dad in NYC. It's great. We got the same thing we did before. It was huge! People are leaning back out of thier seats to look at the two hicks with this huge masterpiece of food before them.

I'm in shock at the size of it when this flash goes off. What the.....? Sitting next to us are three people and two of them are very recognizable. I have no idea who they are so don't ask. The very, very good looking fellow has taken a picture of me with my huge mouth on the floor. That brought me back to reality, (and my chin off the floor). He asks if I want another one where I don't look so scared. Sure. And he actually emailed it to me as you can see here. The other is probably on some web site making fun of me. I know I’d laugh.

This thing had huge crab claws, giant shrimp (with the heads placed back on them), clams, scallops, mussels, octopus, squid, and periwinkles. Um, snails. Not the big snails that taste so good. Not the escargot, but just exactly what you see crawling along your porch at night. Those snails. I tried one and then couldn’t get past what they are. Nope. Not doing it.

However, when the group of us went to dinner that night, one fellow had the octopus and it’s the actual tentacles stretched out across a plate and they were oh so very good. Yum!

So the next day Dad has a meeting and I don’t. He goes to his meeting, I call a cab. I knew exactly where I wanted to go and I went there. It was great. Stand in line, pay my $20 to visit the Museum of Modern Art. Yeah. Right. Okay.

After the previous day of wanting to beat my head against the sidewalk for not bringing my camera, I didn’t make the same mistake again. I brought it. I should have taken pictures of the stuff I shook my head at. This is art? But instead I took pictures of stuff I thought was actually neat. Should have, should have…..oh well. I can always go back.

So I walk into this one room and there is this huge…thing towering above us about three or so floors. It’s big, it’s looming, I was impressed. How in the world do you get that thing balanced like that and it not fall over? I have no answers to this. But it's neat isn't it? From there I go into this room with all these photographs. Okay. I'm interested. Curious. In the middle of this room is a huge white screen hanging from the ceiling with a video of a woman with a comb in one hand and a brush in the other. She is putting them together in the middle of her head and pulling them back while she makes sounds like a dog. ????? Now I'm cocking my head to one side. I graze the walls. No explaination. I stop by one of the guards. "What's up with the video?" I ask. "Honey," the lady tells me, "I've been working here for a long time and I don't even know what it means." So I'm not the only one.

There was an exhibit of a woman how took 10 years of her life to change her appearance with hair styles, makeup, gaining weight, losing weight. She didn't even look like the same woman in all the pictures. With this, I was impressed. She put in the time and was creative and honestly, it was interesting. Kodus to you!

Then, there was a blank canvas with a big rip in it. To the side is the 'artist's" name and the name of the piece of crap on the wall. A blank canvas with a rip is art? In my house that's called an accident, usually the 'artist" is my 2 yr old son. Alrighty then! Walking on.

Now there are two canvases with all the letters of the alphabet in capital along the left side. Surrounding the letters and covering the other two canvases are, I kid you not, lines from a ball point pen. This is art my friends. This is what tax money goes to for (clears throat) art. Right. I feel like I've been ..... we won't go into that.

This is the manutia I find in all these rooms. I am sorely disappointed. What political bull crap has been done to get these people's (fill in blank here) on the walls of NYC for millions of people to see? Nope. Don't really want an answer to that question.

I look at one piece of 'art' and ask the person next to me what I'm missing. That lady has the same look on her face as well and tells me when I find out, let her know. Good, I'm not the only crazy person here.

Then it happens. I have wandered around the bull long enough to come across a bit of good. There was a woman who took pictures of areas where buildings have been demolished and with colored string and stick pins, recreates these buildings. It was awesome. How in the world did she do this? I tried to take a picture, but the string didn't show up. She did all the intrique detail that was required as well. Trash on the sidewalk, tires and such. It was very impressive.

Next floor, I came across inventions. These are the kinda things I like. This is a HUGE baby cradle from years back. Now that's neat stuff right there.

When I walked into the room there is a shelf with all sorts of containers on them. One shelf is just containers to hold liquid. Another display had gas masks of all kinds. Another was containers made of different material. Okay, I feel educated. Then I turn to find these. Look at this string chair. Now that I am so willing to sit in.






And tell me that this doesn't make you think of the pixar lamp from the movies Saving Nemo, Monsters Inc. and such. A little additive, this lamp is about three times my height. There was a whole floor dedicated to animation that used all Pixar items and how they did it. That was a bit kewl I would have to say.

This pictures here. It a table and cabinet filled with eggshells that are painted, of all colors, eggshell. Hahaha. Yes, a little kooky, but neat yes? Much neater than I'm insane and like to cover my canvas with ball point pen. (there was more than one of those works as well, not so ingenious)

This right here, this is a house of all things. I'm not kidding. This fellow drew up the plans (I saw them) for a house of rest to be in some country like New Zealand. It's called a Religous house or such of peace. Someone liked his plans (you should see the inside of it as well) and loaned him the property in Colorado to build it. The view was awesome. If they are renting out time to spend in it, sign me up. It was gorgeous. All the other buildings I saw did NOT impress me as much as this one. (sorry for the flash glare) The model is under glass.

And then....they totally redeem themselves. It's VAN GOGH! IT'S PICASSO. I now believe that Picasso is my favorite artist cause you know he wasn't right in the head. Would believe that he did both of these?

I was so empressed. I was excited. I could feel my heart beating faster. My face lite up. The camera was flashing. Ooops, the camera was flashing. One of the big gaurds yells out at me, "Maam!" (Ma'am? Do I look old to you!!!!????) "No flash!" Oh yeah, flash - bad for paintings. I remember that from somewhere in my childhood. I looked at him shameful, sorry....won't happen again. (to a painting anyway.)

Starry Night! I knew the name to this! Yeah! I loved it! Then there was the pointilism painting. I remember that from school as well. You can't see it but this painting is made up of little bitty
dots of paint. (notice, no flash. I was a good girl.)

Then there is the blind lovers. How true is this? The both have thier own individual shrouds on. You know that could be taken two different ways. Are they blind to the other person's needs, or blind to their faults? We could get philisophical on this, but we're not. We're really not.

This painting of time warped I remember from an old mystery movie. The movie was in black and white. I loved it. I had no idea the painting was famous, I just thought it was used in the dream as the movie portrayed. Okay, I was wrong again. I do that sometimes.

I get done with the floors that have redeemed this museum (in my opinion of course) and at the bottom of the stairs is a little kid standing in front of this full length eyeball? The was all lazer light. It was neat. When the little boy got done gawking (as I was doing as well) I took this picture before others got in my way. (cause I own the place - move!)

I've just previewed this. There is no way I can correct these pictures, but you get the idea. After I got done in the museum, I contemplated going to the one across the street, but it's not often I get to walk around NYC by myself and I wondered if I had the gall to do it. I do. I went into one of those tourist trap shops and got the kids all something and myself a few things as well. And the sitter. Cause she was sweet enough to take on my crew for a few days. Thanks Missy!!!!

Now, Dad and I are trying to get a group together to all go at one time to see NYC. Who wants to come?