#unpause
November 7th, 2018
Category: New York
Corona Park
Long before the virus, there was the park.
It was here, at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park that the 1964 World’s Fair took place. Most of the futuristic structures created for the fair survive only in vintage photos. Yet, there are still a few remnants so striking they have become iconic symbols of the borough of Queens.
Like the New York State Pavillion, designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster, which stayed because it was too expense to demolish.
Or the Unisphere, dedicated to “Man’s Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe”. Designed by Gilmore Clarke and made of stainless steel so it would never rust, its three rings represent the orbits of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (the first Russian), Astronaut John Glenn (the first American), and Telstar 1 (the first communications satellite that enabled the first transatlantic television transmission, linking the United States and France).
Finally, the Rocket Thrower, a 43-foot bronze figure designed by sculptor Donald De Lue; a giant launching a rocket with the one hand and reaching for the stars with the other.
Imagine what it would be like to step out of the subway and see these gigantic structures, all new and fully functioning, for the first time!
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens N.Y.
November 4th, 2018
The House of Jazz
“We’re right out here with the rest of the colored folk and the Puerto Ricans and Italians and the Hebrew cats. We don’t need to move out in the suburbs to some big mansion with lots of servants and yardmen and things.”
And so it was in 1943 that Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille came to live in this modest house in the working-class neighbourhood of Corona, Queens. They lived here for the remainder of their lives.
Today, the Louis Armstrong House Museum & Archives is open to the public, offering guided tours while audio clips from Louis’s homemade recordings are played, and visitors hear Louis practicing his trumpet, enjoying a meal, or talking with his friends.
No one else has lived in the house since the Armstrongs passed away; the rooms, furnishings, ornaments, the all-mirrored bathroom and that lovely show-stealing turquoise kitchen reflect their personalities, taste and times they lived in. I tried to stay behind every time our guide moved on, to take a better look at each room. I was sure that if I touched the walls I would hear the echo of Louis’ trumpet playing – and not from the audio clip.
The Museum is expanding across the street from the House. The new Education Center will complement the existing experience with an exhibition gallery, a jazz club where musicians will rehearse and perform their music, and a store. The museum’s research collections, currently housed at Queens College’s library, will move into an Archival Center on the second floor.
The anticipated completion was pushed back to 2021 (pre-Covid-19).
With the Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives currently closed because of Covid-19, the Museum has launched “That’s My Home,” their first online exhibition – absolutely worth a visit.
November 4th, 2018
Boarded up
New York City bracing against more unrest on Day 6.
Curfew in effect between 8 p.m. – 5 a.m. extended through Sunday.
Vehicular traffic in Manhattan below 96th Street is banned during curfew.
New York protests over George Floyd’s tragic, untimely, unnecessary death in police custody.
Manhattan, N.Y.
June 2nd, 2020
Shit Happens
One hundred thousand. Shit that could have been avoided.
Images from Disappearing Acts, a Bruce Nauman retrospective that was presented in two parts, in MoMa and MoMA PS1.
”Disappearing Acts traces what Nauman has called “withdrawal as an art form”—both literal and figurative incidents of removal, deflection, and concealment. Bodies are fragmented, centers are left empty, voices emanate from hidden speakers, and the artist sculpts himself in absentia, appearing only as negative space. The retrospective charts these forms of omission and loss across media and throughout the decades, following Nauman as he circles back to earlier concerns with new urgency. Presented in two complementary parts, at The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1, this is the most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work ever assembled.” [source: MoMA]
Last photo (not) showing the Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh; I wonder when (or even if) will we ever see crowds like this anymore…
October 19th, 2018
Meanwhile back in New York…
Hustle and bustle as usual.
October 19th, 2018
You can go to hell — I’m going to Marfa
With Davy Crockett’s more famous quote in our minds we hopped on a cab to La Guardia, then on a plane to Atlanta, followed by another plane to El Paso; two planes, one airport car rental and twelve-and-a-half hours later, we arrived in the middle of nowhere and into a Twilight Zone episode about a giant art gallery that had mysteriously appeared in the desert. Was this a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity, or just another sleepy small time Texas town? The answer was left open to our imagination. We had three days to find out and not a moment to lose.
Episode 1 – Prada
Marfa’s charming weirdness extends beyond it’s boundaries. Just off US 90, about 26 miles northwest of the town, expect the unexpected.
Prada Marfa is a permanent installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset.
Built in 2005, with the intention to let it fall into decay, it has since been broken into, its contents stolen (the very night it was completed), vandalised, graffitied, created controversy when Playboy erected a 40-foot-tall neon bunny nearby, attracting the attention of the Texas Department of Transportation, became an Instagram sensation and reclassified as a museum, with the Prada Marfa as its only exhibit.
Both the bunny and Prada Marfa were considered illegal advertisements according to the 1965 Highway Beautification Act and the reclassification of the structure as Museum would exempt it from the signage rules. The bunny has since been removed.
Episode 2 – Marfa
Tough to Get Here. Tougher to Explain. But Once You Get Here, You Get It.
Marfa Visitor Center, inside the Historic USO Building.
Episode 3 – The Notable Features
The Hotel Paisano, aka headquarters for the cast and crew filming Giant in the summer of 1955.
The Art Deco Palace Theater, aka Marfa Opera House. Later, it became a movie theatre but has been closed since the 1970s.
The Marfa Water Tower and the Presidio County Courthouse. Both can be seen from almost everywhere in Marfa, since they are the tallest structures in town.
Marfa, TX
October 6th, 2018
The Guild and its Executive Assistants
La Guardia Airport, New York
October 5th, 2018
The Six Brandenburg Concertos @Park Avenue Armory
The Six Brandenburg Concertos, one of J.S. Bach’s most iconic masterpieces meet Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, one of the world’s most acclaimed choreographers meet Park Avenue Armory, one of New York’s most iconic venues. A winning combination and one of the highlights of the year.
”The Brandenburg Concertos consist of six concerti grossi, in which Bach deploys the instruments from the baroque orchestra in different, often audacious constellations. Against this backdrop, De Keersmaeker sets sixteen dancers originating in different Rosas generations. Following the premiere of Mitten wir im Leben sind/Bach6Cellosuiten De Keersmaeker approaches, as in Vortex Temporum (2013), Bach’s music as if it were a ready-made score for a dance piece, embodying Bach’s polyphonic mastery. The concertos are played live by the baroque ensemble B’Rock. Violinist Amandine Beyer, with whom De Keersmaeker previously co-operated for Partita 2, will conduct the orchestra.” – [source: Rosas]
October 1st, 2018
The UN Bubble
Visiting the site of UN Headquarters is like walking into a bubble; a microcosm of our world within my reach, coming to terms with the knowledge I’m no longer walking in New York City but on the grounds of an international territory.
The site of UN Headquarters is owned by the United Nations. It is an international territory. No federal, state or local officer or official of the United States, whether administrative, judicial, military or police, may enter UN Headquarters, except with the consent of and under conditions agreed to by the Secretary-General of the Organization.
United Nations Headquarters remains both a symbol of peace and a beacon of hope – in the present troubled times, more than ever.
Images taken during the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 73)
Sculpture: “Consciousness” by Mongolian artist Ochirbold Ayurza, a gift from Mongolia to the United Nations
September 27th, 2018
The Humble Fabulist 