Art Museums in NYC
Apr 18, 2006 Jennifer W. Miner
New York City is, of course, renown for a great many things, not the least of which is its world-class art museums. While MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art arguably get most of the press, I'm usually only able to get to Manhattan during vacation weeks of high tourist-to-native ratios. At these times, MoMA and the Met are so overcrowded and the lines are so long that I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole. Instead, I like to spend some time in other art museums that may be of less fame, but are in my mind of no less great importance.
Here is a brief review of three of them:
• The American Folk Art Museum, on 45 West 53rd St., celebrates American folk art and modern self-taught artists. One exhibit on continuous view is called "Folk Art Revealed," which the museum describes as "(spanning from) the 18th century to the present." Overriding themes in this exhibit include the American duality of both community and individuality. Walking among the alternatingly carved and woven craftwork, and the primitivistic paintings, make me feel serene and happy, in touch with the past and far from the bustling, harried pedestrians outside. Also, in my opinion, The American Folk Art Museum has hands-down the most interesting and unique gift shop around!
• The Frick Museum, right off the park at 1 East 70th St., currently has two exhibits that fill viewers with awe and that sensation of seeing greatness and genius firsthand. "Goya's Last Works" celebrates the famed Spanish artist. The focus of this exhibit, as the website notes, is the "final phase of (his) long career - the years of (his) voluntary exile in Bordeaux from 1824 to 1828." The other current exhibit is "Veronese's Allegories: Virtue, Love, and Exploration in Renaissance Venice." Renaissance art in general is known for its use of light and dark, its sumptuousness and attention to detail. Paulo Veronese in particular painted art which tell a story, such as "The Choice between Virtue and Vice." All five of his allegorical paintings are available for viewing, and are "inextricably linked to the idea of opulence and splendor in Renaissance Venice." The gift shop is extremely classy. Alongside some fantastic art collection books, posters and prints, you'll find exhibition catalogs of Frick exhibits past and present.
• Let's face it; more often people choose television shows or movies instead of museums for entertainment. If all the high-class enlightenment of art museums is making you want to curl up with a bag of chips and old I Love Lucy reruns (or Full House reruns, who am I to judge?), you're not alone. But it's hard to justify spending a pricey vacation holed up in a hotel room, ordering room service and flicking through the 500 cable channels.
Instead, I recommend the best of both worlds: The American Museum of the Moving Image. It's at 36-01 35th Ave, at 36th St. in Astoria. Yes, that's Queens, but don't panic. The museum is two blocks and one avenue from the Steinway subway stop; from Times Square, take the R. The American Museum of the Moving Image is built on the former site of Astoria Studios, which was once the largest movie studio east of Los Angeles. Its website describes it as "dedicated to educating the public about the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media and to examining their impact on culture and society." Couldn't have said it better myself! There are frequent movie screenings, and gallery admission is free late Friday afternoons.
Also, the gift shop (sensing a gift shop theme here?) sells screenplays alongside the expected assortment of jewelry and postcards. I highly recommend this museum. After all, where else can you spend a weekend afternoon watching four Robert Altman films, yet smugly know that it must be for your betterment, since you're doing so in a museum? It is definitely worth the trip.
Related, on Suite 101:
Art and Architecture in Florence
Copyright 2006 Jennifer Miner and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright.
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