New Yorker cover

Chaos and Classicism at the Guggenheim

Today my dad and I went to see Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, and Germany, 1918-1936 at the Guggenheim Museum. Exhibited mostly in the spiraling halls of the Guggenheim, it presented art from three European countries in the time between the two World Wars. While artists were recovering from the  trauma of World War I, they looked to classical ideals and reinvented them in an attempt to re-establish order amidst chaos. However, as fascist regimes took power in Italy and Germany, art fell more and more under the control of the dictatorships, and artists were limited to presenting only fascist propaganda and political ideals by the time the mid-1930s rolled around, bringing with it the start of World War II.

Some images from the exhibit:

Picasso - combines classical Roman ideals and visual elements

Balthus - seemingly a happy street seen, but at closer glance, everyone looks slightly tense and permanently frozen. Very disconcerting scene.

This one, from the last room of the exhibit called "The Dark Side of Classicism," encompasses all of Hitler's master race ideals, and actually hung in his living room. *Shudder.*

The exhibit is on view until January 9th - check it out if you can! You also get a free audioguide at the Guggenheim which I thought contributed a lot to the exhibit. Click here to go to the really cool exhibition website.

Old School Subway Car Sighting

Yesterday I was waiting on the uptown platform of the Broadway-Lafayette station when this very old subway pulled into the station on the downtown side. Everyone took out their cell phones and tried to photograph it before it left. I couldn't get great pictures but you can get the idea. It was so cool! The seats looked like they were leather or pleather, or some kind of cushioned material that wasn't just hard plastic. There were normal passengers on it, but I'm still not entirely sure it wasn't a special train ride. Either way, I've never seen anything like it in my 22 years of subway riding!

Christmas Can-Can

This is worth taking 3 minutes to watch. Trust me.

Thanksgiving

This classy little card was found at each place at my aunt and uncle's Thanksgiving table...perhaps it can start to give you a sense of our own little version of a crazy family gathering.

Please note that the smiley face is holding a glass of red wine.

Parade Preview

Thanksgiving Disasters, via NYTimes.com

Your Thanksgiving won't be as bad as the guy who fought someone in the process of robbing his car on the Upper West Side...I promise.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/its-thanksgiving-were-doomed/

Get Your Thanksgiving Pants Ready!

Why be uncomfortable on a holiday that revolves around food?

Harry Potter Cast Learns to Speak American

So glad I grew up in the Harry Potter generation.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Back to the Blog

I seem to follow a pattern of blogging for a few months and then stopping completely...and then starting again...and stopping again. But I'm starting again (again) and this time I'm going to try to keep up with it. Let's see how that goes.

To get back in the swing of this, I'll share some pretty autumn pictures I've taken recently:

West Broadway

East Hampton

Also, a word about Glee. It's been pretty bad lately, but I liked last week's Gwenyth Paltrow episode. Watch these two clips and tell me if there's anything she can't do.