Thursday, February 3, 2011

Stieglitz, Steichen & Strand Met's Fab Photos, Rubell's Collection + Times Square Warm-Up

"The Steerage" by Stieglitz - He loved to recount how Picasso had praised
the collage-like dispersal of forms and shifting depths of "The Steerage"
ART: Great Masters of Photography -
Stieglitz, Steichen and Strand
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has produced a magical exhibition from its own collection of photographic prints, taken and printed by the first great practitioners who believed photography was art.
For most of the 20th century, photography was the stepchild of the art world. Collectors did not embrace it easily. Suddenly, in the past 30 years, photography started coming on strong and now, at the art fairs, photographs have become some of the most desired pieces in the shows.
Photography is still the affordable collectible fine art. Etchings, silk screens and block prints have all but vanished and are rarely shown in contemporary art gallery exhibitions. Photography and other digital media are now the only two dimensional art shown which are produced in multiples. At market, individual photographic prints can sell from $25 to $500,000.
The photographic prints in this Metropolitan Museum exhibition are some of the most important and rare photographs on this planet.
"The Flatiron" by Steichen
The three prints of The Flatiron building by Steichen are the only three prints ever made from the negative, printed in 1904, 1905 and 1909. Stieglitz's photo titled "The Terminal", a NYC snow scene, and his print titled "The Steerage", shown at the top of this posting, are two rock stars of photography, beautiful.
"The Terminal" by Stieglitz 
So many great photos I have studied and admired in books over a lifetime are all in these three small rooms, rubbing shoulders with each other. I almost swooned. It is such a privilege to have these rare, famous icons of the history of photography a mere foot in front of your eyes. For me, this exhibition made for a very special day at the museum. Even if you have never heard of these photos before, GO, you never know when or if you will ever see them again. The exhibition is up through April 10, 2011.
To keep reading the issue while you listen, copy this link and paste it into a new window.
Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz (American, b. Hoboken, NJ, 1864–1946), a photographer of supreme accomplishment as well as a forceful and influential advocate for photography and modern art in America - through exhibitions at his gallery in NYC, "291" and through the publication of his sumptuous journal, Camera Work. He laid the original foundation of the Met's collection donating the first photographs ever collected by the museum. Ultimately Sieglitz donated over 600 photos he had collected or taken, to the museum.
Edward Steichen (American, b. Luxembourg, 1879–1973), A painter who became Stieglitz's protégé and gallery collaborator. He was the most talented exemplar of Photo-Secessionist ideas, rivaling the unique qualities of paintings with his photographs.
Paul Strand (American,b. NYC, 1890–1976), whose photographs from 1915–1917 treated three principal themes—movement in the city, abstractions, and street portraits—and pioneered a shift from the soft-focus Pictorialist aesthetic to the straight approach and graphic power of the emerging modernism.
See the Met Collection Database for selected works from this exhibition:
http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/gallerylistview.aspx?dd1=73&hi=1&ov=0&page=1















Readers please forgive the spacing problems in this post. The Google Blogspot Site has an internal problem with their code. It adds giant spaces every time I make a correction, ie: The posting is corrupting & I cannot correct the problem from my side. I will try and find out if Google can fix it. The words and pictures are mostly correct, the spaces are my main concern, I apologize! Keep scrolling down until you get to the next segment. Thank you!
















ART PEOPLE:















Collector
Jason Rubell
& Museum Director,
Kimerly Rorschach
A conversation on Jan. 20, 2011 in Miami, Fla. at The Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation's private museum. On the panel are Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead, collector Jason Rubell and Kimerly Rorschach, Director of Duke's Nasher Museum of Art.

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO IS LONG, 40 MINUTES. IT IS PROVIDED FOR THOSE INTERESTED. FOR AN OVERVIEW SEE THE NOTES BELOW.

NOTES (not quotes) of a conversation held on January 20, 2011 at The Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation Museum in Miami. 

Richard H. Brodhead - It is easy for societies and universities to say we need good medicine, good scientists, and good athletics, but to have a great school and society, we must have the whole and complete collection of human resources and creativity. We must support it all, encouraging the artists and inspiring each other to contribute to the arts, in order to be complete and keep our culture strong.

Jason Rubell -  How did I come to start collecting art at a relatively young age? I would say I initially hated art, like most kids do, but I was lucky enough to grow up in NYC in the mid-1970s. My parents are dynamic, adventurous, completely open and amazing people who felt the need to include their children in their passion of collecting art. So they would drag me and my sister through SOHO when we were little kids. They included us in all conversations and with whomever was at the house talking with us. They made us feel like we were part of the discussion. They asked us what we thought. I remember when they took me to the first exhibition of Basquiat, I was furious to see them buy his stuff and take it home, I hated it at the time. Luckily they did not listen to me since Basquiat is one of the most important artists of that era. Being treated as equals is one of the reasons our family museum has all of our names on it. This is totally a family collection and we discuss each purchase collectively. I enjoy the dialogue in deciding to buy a piece of art rather than just purchasing it on my own. Contemporary art focuses on the topics of today.
    All collections have a point of view, they have an idea of where there are going and what they are looking for in the art they collect. For collectors the challenge of finding the NEW is the interesting part.
     How do collectors have enough money to collect art? When business is good, we collect a lot of art  and when business is poor, we collect much less.
     In south Florida there are several private collections with museums open to the public, it is called the "Miami Model" by collectors around the world. There is the Rubell Family Collection, the Marguilies Collection and the Ruiz museum. 
     The Rubell Family Collection includes works from the 1980's and works created this year. Some artists represented in the collection include: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Williem de Kooning, Olafur Eliasson, Antony Gormley, Michael Heizer, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Joan Mirό, Isamu Noguchi, George Segal, Richard Serra and Tony Smith.

Kimerly Rorschach - As institutions, we are looking for art that is engaging, for our constituents, and something the museum can keep in their collection long term. We want people who are interested in art to have a rich experience when they visit.  Picasso and Matisse were difficult to appreciate when they were new, now they are popular, it is hard to afford them.
      Budget Cuts? The way a museum deals with budget cuts and cutbacks in government help to institutions is we cut back. We are constantly trying to educate our elected officials that culture is vital to our society. Vital cities are cities which are growing and flourishing but to flourish elected officials must invest in the quality of life of American cities, along with propping up their economic bases. Culture and economics go hand in hand. It is called investing in the creative class. Museum directors have conventions too and at a recent one in Miami, the Mayor of Miami Beach, having just experienced his first Miami Basel Art Fair, said: "Before the fair I didn't realize that Art is the greatest thing! The positive impact the fair had on the economy of Miami Beach was fantastic!" The Chinese say they don't know how to teach creativity to their students, they wish they were more like the US in that respect. So, in the creative race, we are very much ahead and we need to keep it up.
     Our education department at the museum is not focused on art history, but instead we ask young students to look at the art in front of them and talk about it or write about what it says to them. This puts a question before the child that has many answers. "What do they see in the art?"

Renaissance+New+York.jpg
The R Lounge has the BEST VIEW of Times Square,
and nobody knows about it.
FOOD: Warm/Great 
Place to Enjoy
Times Square 
My choice for the BEST place to be on the inside looking out at the snow and ice in NYC and still enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city in winter is 
The R Lounge at 
Two Times Square.
For lunch, just to have a drink and chat, or for a light meal before a Broadway play or after a Matinee, the R Lounge will be a memorable experience IF you are seated by the window.
R+Lounge+View+of+Times+Square.jpg
     There are windows on three sides and you are just the right height for a good overview of the traffic, people, huge signs and flashing lights that make Times Square so exciting. Most importantly you are not in a tourist trap restaurant! The lounge is often almost empty because it is the third floor lounge of the Renaissance Hotel and very few visitors or even locals know it is there (this is a good thing).
     They call the R Lounge a tapas bar, which is odd, unless you call mini lobster rolls and pork sliders tapas. The hotel does employ the acclaimed chefs Bruce and Eric Bromberg, so there is probably something on the menu you will like, I posted the menu below. Just remember to enjoy the impressive view, drink in hand, in a pleasant environment. 

R+Lounge+at+Two+Times+Square.jpg
     Always ask to be seated by a window and if there is a crowd at the bar, choose the far side of the room. Your new, "secret space" in Times Square is walking distance to most Broadway plays, the dress is casual and is open for lunch, dinner and late night. For drinks, try their signature Bloody Mary or the Red Stag Manhattan!  Sun - Wed 11am -Midnight and Thur - Sat 11am - 2am. 714 7th Ave., 3rd Fl. between 47th and 48th. NYC. 212-261-5200 
The R Lounge Menu below:
Blue Ribbon Classics
Northern Fried Chicken Wings golden honey.


 12.00
White Bean Hummus Toast olives, lemon oil.


 9.00
Manchego & Honey Toast country white.


 9.00
Smoked Salmon Toast three onion cream, capers.


 11.00
Grilled Chicken Burger lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickled cucumbers.


 15.00
Fried Rock Shrimp lemon, cayenne sauce.


 15.00
Grilled Cheese Panini farmhouse cheddar, fontina & taleggio cheeses.


 15.00
Pork Chip Nachos queso fresco, crackling, jalapenos.


 15.00
Bbq Pork Sliders shredded lettuce, brioche roll.


 10.00
Bar Bites
Blue Crab Deviled Eggs 


 8.00
Tempura Green Beans, Asian Aioli 


 6.00
Charred Shishito Snacking Peppers 


 7.00
Steamed Organic Edamame, Sea Salt 


 8.00
Potato Chips, Green Market Onion Dip 


 .99
Onion Soup, Gruyere Crouton 


 10.00
Mini Lobster Rolls 


 15.00
Iced Shrimp, Horseradish & Cocktail Sauces 


 15.00
Crispy Calamari, Pomodoro Sauce 


 9.00
Cheeseburger Sliders, House Pickles, Ketchup 


 10.00
Asian Pork Sliders, Cool Cucumber, Hoisin, Chilies 


 11.00
Hot & Cheesy Spinach Dip, Tortilla Chips 


 10.00
Meals
Caesar Salad sourdough croutons, shaved parmesan cheese


 12.00
With Grilled Chicken Or Shrimp.


 19.00
Chopped Cobb chicken, bacon, tomato, avocado, egg, blue cheese.


 15.00
Organic Green Market Vegetable Salad sharp sherry vinaigrette.


 15.00
Turkey Club bacon, lettuce, tomato.


 15.00
Roasted Free Range Chicken heirloom tomato-arugula salad.


 25.00
Sweet Pea Ravioli ricotta, wild mushrooms, parmesan cheese.


 22.00
Simply Grilled Fish green market vegetables.



Grilled Angus Chuck Burger new york cheddar cheese, smoky bacon, brioche roll.


 16.00
New York Steak & Fries peppercorn sauce.


 29.00
Three Eggs Sunny-Side Up bacon, cottage fries.


 18.00
Desserts $10
Chocolate Tart, Caramel & Sea Salt 



Brooklyn's Finest Key Lime Pie 



New York Cheesecake 



Apple Crisp, Butter Pecan Ice Cream 



House Made Sorbets & Ice Creams 



Cocktails $12
Partners & Spade Absolut Bloody Mary Designer andy Spade concocted our signature version after waking up in our hotel from an overly festive night. now, you too can concoct your perfect bloody mary.



Pineapple Sage Caipirinha leblon cachaca, pineapple, sage.



Sparkling Strawberry Cosmo bacardi dragon berry strawberry rum, nuvo sparkling vodka, cranberry juice.



Amante Picante patron silver tequila, cilantro, jalapeno, cayenne-salt rim.



Cuban Society bacardi razz rum, galliano liqueur, fresh raspberries, mint.



Red Stag Manhattan jim beam white label bourbon, red stag cherry infused bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters.



The Brazilian Cure veev acai spirit, leblon cachaca, grand marnier, acai juice.



Sorriso plymouth gin, absolut pear vodka, cherry herring liquor.



Empire Apple berentzen apfelkorn apple liqueur, apple cider, brown sugar syrup, cinnamon-sugar rim.



Beverages Average $5

Draft Beer $7  

A little bit of fun here at the end. Artist Salvador Dali on "What's My Line" the early TV game show.

A little bit of fun here at the end. Artist Salvador Dali on "What's My Line" the early TV game show



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Until later,



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Jack
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2 comments:

  1. JAAFebruary 4, 2011 at 11:02 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JAAFebruary 25, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    Readers please forgive the spacing problems in this post. The Google Blogspot Site has an internal problem with their code. It adds giant spaces every time I make a correction, ie: it is corrupting. I cannot correct the problem from my side. I will try and find out if Google can fix it. The words and pictures are mostly correct, the spaces are my main concern, I apologize!

    ReplyDelete

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