January 17, 2009

Picassos

We're having a really relaxing weekend, which is much awaited and I hope well deserved. Last night Craig made his family's chili recipe, substituting ground turkey for the beef, and we watched Wanted. Surprisingly, I was more entertained by the movie than Craig, who kept muttering, "That's stupid" under his breath. This morning we woke up late (needing sleep like never before, these days) and ate bagels before showering to head into the fierce winter temperatures. We've been planning, for some time now, to go to the Guggenheim. We've visited most of the top-ranked art museums in the City, even the Brooklyn Museum of Art years ago to see Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party in its astonishing profundity. And honestly, with my art background, it's shocking that I don't demand more art museum attendance as it is. So, we found ourselves braving the brisk 15-minute walk to 89th and 5th Ave to see what the Guggenheim is all about. Sadly, all levels of the spiral were closed for construction and installation of a new exhibit, however, we were able to see the permanent exhibit and the Kandinsky exhibit. I fell in love with the above posted Picasso. The title is simply "Woman Ironing." My old art instincts abruptly recognized the brilliance - the genius - of the composition. The line beginning at her neck and creating the jut of her sharp thin shoulder, traveling along the hunch of her back, is perfect. The space created between her torso and right arm couldn't be more well proportioned to the rest of the painting. Then I began to absorb the quiet haunting nature of the woman as a subject. The shadow in her eyes hides her emotion from the viewer so we are free to build what might be there for ourselves, yet her stance speaks ranges of sadness. I love that the iron itself is such an insignificant element of the painting. This was such a compelling piece to view. I returned to it after visiting the rest of the permanent collection, and I bought a postcard of it. But seeing it there, hanging in the Guggenheim, drawing me in, quieting me, reminded me of all the paintings I've loved and viewed live, and how seeing artwork in person is mandatory for art lovers. Live art trumps anything that can be seen on a computer screen or in a textbook, hands down.*In other thrilling news, last night I bought 2nd row tickets for us to see Maggie Gyllenhaal in a Chekhov play. I could not be happier about it! So, in summary of our adventures of the next couple of months, we are seeing Razorlight in concert, Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) in Hedda Gabler, Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave in concert, and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Uncle Vanya. That's a lot of exciting stuff to look forward to! We're blessed.*Thursday afternoon in New York was strange, because a US Airways pilot landed a commercial plane in the Hudson River. Evidently the plane collided with a flock of birds, which stopped both engines. The flight was in transit to North Carolina when this happened, and the pilot used his wits to safely land roughly 150 passengers in the Hudson, where ferries and rescue operations saved every single life on that plane. That's offbeat and positive news, if you ask me. It's being called "Miracle on the Hudson."*Off to enjoy the remainder of the weekend before kicking off another full week of work. Thanks for art, thanks for music, thanks for theater...they make it worth the while of forging through the weekdays.

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