9/11 in Works of Art

These paintings were created in the days following 9/11 in NYC. Having just moved to Greenpoint (Brooklyn) from lower Manhattan where my apartment was located just under the shadow of the World Trade Center, I was extremely fortunate to now be living out of that immediate area. Even so, everything about this catastrophic event permeated every corner of the city; the feeling of helplessness and loss, bewilderment and fear; and the acrid smell in the air that lingered for weeks. Below, is my painting, Unfinished Business to relay the feelings of disorder and confusion in a new world as a population that was under attack, and this was far from over. America had finally woke from its sleepy oblivion.

I created this piece above, Talk of Towers, after seeing the fire in the South Tower on my way to work in Chelsea that perfect September morning, and subsequently witnessing the fall of both. I often use paper ephemera as a background before I start painting. In this case, I used subway maps with some routes and stations that would be forever changed. The WTC was marked with a red dot which can be seen through certain areas of translucence in the paint. With my usual cell “language” I have developed throughout my recent work, I modified it with a star to mark some of the central nuclei to convey the rise in patriotism felt everywhere. When you look at the piece as a whole, you can make out the faint division of three columns; on either end, the two Towers, and the ghost-like negative space centered in between.

Still Remembering 9/11

Lower Manhattan as it looked in a photo collage from my graduate school days at Pratt Institute - although the balcony of my high rise dorm had a pretty good view, this was probably taken from the Empire State Building.

Another photo collage taken years later in a snowy McCarren Park when I first moved to Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 2000- just a year before the attack on the World Trade Center. The faint ghostly outline of the Twin Towers can be seen just to the left of the Russian church. I just moved from Tribeca where the enormous buildings loomed high above my sublet in a dizzying vertical trajectory into the sky. Every time I neared the apartment, they were there; two stalwart figures. As I sat on the incredible roof deck at the top of my building, I remember always feeling a sense of unease at their scale as my thoughts trailed off, "if those things ever fell".... In my wildest dreams, I never, ever felt those musings would actually come true.

Street Heart Textures

Little Italy/Chinatown, New York - April 2015

Lower East Side, New York - April 2015

Happy (Lunar) New Year - Year of the Snake

Lion Puppets (Chinatown, New York - February 4, 2006)

According to ancient soothsayers, the Year of the Snake is associated with protection and prevention from starvation. A snake found in the house is thought to be a symbol of luck concerning finances, prosperity, and wealth. For people born under this sign or with occupational leanings towards the artistic (potters, jewelers, magicians and painters) it offers new hope.

With a big Chinatown in New York, the Lunar New Year is a big event for all New Yorkers. Colorful lions dance and shimmy in front of businesses wishing them success for the upcoming year. The sidewalks are more crowded than usual. Firecrackers snap throughout the streets and dim sum becomes a big dining event.

Happy Year of the Snake!

Manhattan's Hidden Picasso

Just off busy Houston Street and tucked away inside a sleepy central courtyard of apartment buildings in lower Manhattan sits a massive Picasso sculpture. I discovered the Bust of Sylvette (1967) one day when I was wandering around New York with no particular place to go after checking out the annual Armory Show. She is about 6 stories high and is made of a granular concrete with dark sandblasted lines. Picasso's famous Cubist method is rendered by three-dimensional folds allowing the viewer to have different points of perspective into one complete essence of the piece. These bends in the concrete allow shards of sunlight to play on and around the sculpture. I recently saw two small painted metallic mock-ups at the Black and White Picasso show at the Guggenheim. Here, those comparatively tiny models (just twenty-six inches high) have come to life. The giant reinterpretation was executed by the world-famous Spaniard in coordination with Norwegian artist, Carl Nesjar.

The two sides of Sylvette

The model for the piece, a young nineteen year old Sylvette David, appears in the work of Picasso's later years as the "girl with the blonde ponytail". After achieving fame across Europe for being Picasso's muse and for her striking good looks, she later changed her name to Lydia to validate her own art career.

The Brutalist style buildings surrounding the Sylvette sculpture in lower Manhattan are designed by I.M. Pei are part of the NYU Campus. The sculpture itself was a gift to NYU by Mr. and Mrs. Allan D. Emil (philanthropist, patron of the arts, and notable lawyer) in 1968. A similar public sculpture was purchased by the city of Rotterdam. Picasso himself never visited the United States, but this giant artwork certainly makes his presence felt.

Buckyball at Madison Square Park

As another ball drops in Times Square later tonight, its artistic twin (of sorts) sits in Madison Square Park. Mesmerizing and delighting viewers, the thirty-foot tall illuminated Buckyball sculpture changes color moment to moment in an open space just within view of the Empire State and Flatiron Buildings. Lounge chairs surround the artwork allowing visitors to sit and interact with the ever-changing light show. Buckyball is made from a larger (twenty foot diameter) three-dimensional molecule form comprised of hexagons and attached to other hexagons of the same size by a common side. Inside, lies a smaller (ten foot diameter) identical and self-similar version of the shape based on geodesic figures and domes made famous by Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller. More about the artist, Leo Villareal, the mathematics, and scientific concepts behind the artwork can be found at the Park's website.

Enjoy the many colorful iterations of this sculpture below and in Madison Square Park through February 1, 2013.

Merry Christmas from New York

(Noel Graffiti, Lower Manhattan - 2002)

From the Store Windows Archives...

The side windows at Bergdorf's from 2011

Manhattan's Christmas Windows - The 2012 Tour and Review

The magic of the holidays in Manhattan has begun. Come hither, and peek behind the curtain into Bergdorf's cabinet of fabulosities....

The girl with the wild eyes and her poodle act (left); and

the guardian of the miniature mannequins (right).

Composed of different "acts" this year's theme was Vaudeville shows and performers of the 1930s and the Art Deco era. Bergdorf Goodman never disappoints when it comes to their holiday windows. Never. Always over the top and full of visual drama, this is what a storefront in New York City during the holiday season should be. 

Icy glass reflections of the Jazz Age. 

An odd couple out for a night at the theater.

I can't say that for all of them this year though. The windows at Bloomingdale's featured these odd microscopic dolls in a setting with a lot of spare space. Only after seeing an ad on television with similar imagery, did I figure out that there was a Cirque du Soleil theme. Tiffany's was equally disappointing with staid dollhouse-looking rooms. They were nicely done, but didn't grab me. Maybe it's the economic environment, but shoppers and tourists alike need something to lift their spirits. Even in bleak times, people come to New York to see a spectacle. Overall, Fifth Avenue let me down this year. (I haven't made it to Macy's or Lord & Taylor yet.) 

 Feathers and crystalline light of the Roaring 20s.

The finesse and flair of the visual department is evident by the birds' eye perspective of these bawdy ladies enjoying music and playing instruments in this black and white window.

But wait....there's more!
_________

Barneys opted for the easy way out this year- a video in collaboration with Disney called "Electric Holiday". It is a loop of the story of Minnie Mouse's love for a Lanvin dress with a side ruffle (a girl after my own heart). She becomes bewitched by the dress and consumed in a starstruck Parisian Fashion Week daydream featuring stylish heavyweights like Lady Gaga, Daphne Guinness, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz, and other well-known stylists, designers, photographers, and magazine editors.

In a clever merge of haute couture with adorableness, Minnie's dream continues with familiar and beloved Disney characters elongated for the Paris catwalk. The crowd on the sidewalk in front of Barneys cheered with laughter at an expressionless Goofy in his hipster gear as he marched to the hypnotic electronic beat. In the end, Minnie gets a surprise Christmas gift from her longtime beau, Mickey - guess what was in the big box?! It was disappointing that Barneys didn't have their usual window outlandishness, but the animation and story line were really cute.

Anthropologie's usual stunning displays made from simple, everyday objects and materials.

The Saks windows tell the story of the deconstruction of snowflakes and the science behind them. The bulk of the display consisted of lame kinetic figures. I've honestly seen better moving figures on front lawns in the outer boroughs and suburbs. By far, the most appealing part was the kaleidoscope imagery above and the digital chalkboard-like drawing of the reindeer below.

The view that everyone in Midtown is clamoring to see.

Bendel's celebrates with a golden Miss New Year floating from the rafters in a giant glass of champagne. 

Happy 2013, everyone!

Lovin' Lanvin

The designs of Lanvin keep catching my eye. Deep inside, I guess I'm an old Parisian sort of girl. I love that voluminous signature style paired with a well-placed ruffle captured in expensive fabric. For the past several years, every time I saw an absolutely gorgeous gown or dress, I find that it's Lanvin on the label. Here, a tribute windows by Barneys honoring Alber Elbaz as the current successor of Paris's oldest fashion house (1889).

Predating Chanel by about a decade, milliner Jeanne Lanvin created lasting fashion impact out of a need for more stylish clothing for her young daughter. The clothes became widely recognized, and in a relatively short time, Lanvin was a highly sought after seamstress. The wealthiest children and adults in Parisian society suddenly had a new couturier. Clothing for women and children gradually developed into sportswear, lingerie, menswear, housewares, and perfume all creating an overall branded lifestyle like we know of most labels today. From simple beginnings to fashion empire, it is a house that is still very much alive.

For more on Lanvin see the history timeline and their own window displays.

Art Fair Find - Omar Chacon

I was going through my archive of old photos, and look what I found! I love these cheerful works of patterned art from the Scope Art Fair in New York back in 2010. Even though they appear to be very similar, each has a unique characteristic and color palette. The closer you look, the more mesmerizing they become.

Friday Flashback - Hands Off!

Tim Etchells (Volta Art Fair - March 8, 2009)