A Day in Mid-town with Bruce

My brother Bruce came to NYC on Saturday.  His company in Massachusetts sponsors occasional day bus trips to the city, so I met him in mid-town.  Please click on any photo to enlarge for more detail.

I started at the NY Public Library where I got him one of the great literary lions T-shirts.  Here is one of the "real" lions out front.

I met his bus, and then we headed over to MOMA.  I hadn't been in over 10 years.

My favorite exhibit was ”Scream. 1. against the wind 2. against the wall 3. against the sky”.  A mic stand is set up in an open space, and guests are encouraged to share their screams.  Yes, I did it!  Very liberating, and I got a smattering of applause.  We could hear the screams throughout most of the floors and exhibit spaces.

There is an exhibit on kitchens - interesting, but I wish the curators were more descriptive in the tags.

A kit having to do with eggs - but I have no idea
about the uses of the individual pieces.

I don't know much about the following pieces, but they seemed to change as we moved around them.

Not having been in so long, I forgot that MOMA holds so many of the most famous pieces in the world.  No surprise, these galleries were the most crowded.

Monet's Water Lilies looks nothing like this 

(even my good camera can't do it justice),  

but I just wanted to show the scale.

Close-up detail.

Frida Kahlo self-portait on the left.  The "painting" on the right is really a mirror reflecting a piece of a Diego Rivera work across the gallery.

This was an amazing piece to photograph.  It was very delicate, and with each setting, the photos looked completely different.

People tying their hopes and dreams to the Wish Tree.  I posted one too, but I'm not telling!

 

Bruce made sure I got a photo of this goat for my mother.

Bruce looking for change to throw in the fountain.  Yet more wishes!

After a few hours, and a great snack in their cafe, we left the crowds behind.   

As an illustrator himself, Bruce steered us uptown to the Museum of American Illustrations/Society of Illustrators.  It is a small museum in a lovely old brownstone.  The permanent collection is in the society's dining room/bar which has been the scene of some of their raucous parties.

There was a wall of tiles made by their members that held these 3 gems.  

This one deserves a close-up.  Love it!

We then walked around, marveling at some of the crazy things that people buy.   I think this was a purse (to carry a pet?) at Louis Vuitton.

I forgot how much there is to enjoy and see in mid-town. Having worked in that area for over 8 years, I tended to think it was all about offices and places to grab a salad for lunch during the work week.  Sometimes the tourists do know better!  Had a great day - thanks Bruce!!