Who Knew it Would be So Hard to Get to Brooklyn

Brooklyn, New York

Yes this is in Brooklyn. For some reason looking into the face of The Statue of Liberty freaks me out. Come on admit it.....she looks creepy from this angle.

So today I attempted to get back to what I do best........peruse the local museums. I know it has been a while but hey I've been busy. It takes a lot of time, effort and recovering to travel to Canada as much as I have. Plus....I have a job. I'm not in New York on vacation (that would make things so much more fun).

The front of the Museum.

I decided today that I would head to Brooklyn to check out the Art Museum there. For months I have been seeing the advertisements about it while sitting on the subway and I figured today was the day. The MTA attempted to have a different plan though. Turns out there is a ton of construction going on in the subway (they have to do it on the weekend...can you imagine if they closed subway lines during the week? New Yorkers would go mental!!!). I had checked earlier in the week and knew what train to take....however that train line was "not running in Brooklyn today" (I'm quoting the MTA announcer guy) so I had to find another way. I kind of felt a little less than a New Yorker today......because I was kind of getting lost in the subway trying to find my way around.....but then I felt better because it seems as though no one really knew where they were going. Lucky the MTA put up lots of signs with arrows for us to follow. And it is also lucky that there was some entertainment on the train.

Making a little pocket change on the weekend.

Anyway, it took me almost an hour but I eventually made it to Brooklyn and lucky for me you walk out of the subway and the museum is right there. I still have problems with directions when I am travelling below ground and then have to return to the surface. No, my sense of direction has not improved over this past year. I still get lost..........a lot.

Of course the museum is full of all the usual things and since I had a little less time then I had planned I actually skipped some things.....including the Egyptian art. Not that I don't love Egyptian art but as I have mentioned before, now that I have seen it in Egypt....it's just not the same seeing it here. Here are a few things I checked out.

These guys always make me smile when I see them. This is one of the Twelve Heavenly (or Divine) Generals who guard Yakushi Nyorai, The Buddha of Healing. They always seem to be in a dance pose although I am sure he is suppose to have a weapon in his hand.

This tile recalls the garden-like setting of heaven described in the Qur'an. It reminded me of the tiles in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

I found this interesting. This is called Loss of Our Identity #1 (Boy) by Iranian born artist Sadegh Tirafkan. The image questions the deterioration of traditional Iranian culture in the face of an increasingly superficial world driven by new media.

This is a beaded crown which is the ultimate symbol of Yoruba kingship. The Yoruba people are from Nigeria.

Really there was one specific exhibit that drew my attention to the museum. Unfortunately this exhibit also drew in a lot of other people too. So what should have been the most enjoyable part of the museum turned out to be the most annoying. The museum was actually pretty empty for a Saturday (which I was enjoying)....until I wandered up to the 5th floor and realized where everyone was.

Anyways, the exhibit I saw was called Who Shot Rock and Roll and as you can imagine it was all pictures related to music and the people who make it. Of course being a special exhibit I couldn't take pictures so you will have to imagine. What did I get to see? How about a picture of Johnny Cash fingering the camera in 1969, and Mick Jagger standing on a stage covered with shoes in 1978 and James Brown sitting around with curlers in his hair. There were Polaroids of Madonna and Courtney Love and album covers by Lil Kim, Tupac Shakur and Carly Simon. There were pictures of those who have had huge influence on music over the years including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, and Micheal Jackson and artists like Amy Winehouse who hasn't been around long enough to really know what her lasting impression on music will be. I think my favourite though was a wall sized picture by Garard Markowitz titled Psychedelic. It was actually made up of 19 photos of Jimi Hendrix, presented in 3D lenticular technology. When you moved, the picture changed. In a word it was.......haunting. I really did enjoy the exhibit.

Of course I had to leave once all the people annoyed me enough and there was more museum for me to see. Here are a few other things that I enjoyed as well.

I never could find the name of this but I actually had to lay down to get this picture. Don't worry I didn't lay on the floor......there was a couch there.

I also could not find a name on this but you have to love anything that pays this much homage to African Queens. There are about 12 of them but here are 4 of my favourites.

This is a huge wall sized picture by Mickalene Thomas called A little Taste Outside of Love. It is dated 2007.

Ahhh Picasso.......one of my favourites. This is Women in Grey dated 1942.

Ahhhh Matisse (that's Henri Matisse and you should all know that I like him as well). This is Nude in a Wood dated 1906.

The set up of the museum did confuse me at times. This 1863 James Hamilton painting titled Foundering as right next to........

.....this 1963 Leonard Freed photo titled Harlem. I am sure if I spent more time reading the museum signs as I traveled from room to room it would have made more sense but when I peruse museums I tend to just walk and look and see what grabs my attention.

So am I looking at the art......or is the art looking at me?

Anyway, it was a great afternoon. I certainly could have used a little bit more time in the museum but what can you do. Check out the website: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/

Julie