a glimpse back to the 2008 Whitney Biennial

Finally, she’s back! This Thursday, February 25th, marks the return of The Whitney Biennial – a spectacular display of the state of contemporary art. Think of a Jekyll & Hyde scenario: calm galleries by day and rawkas parties by night. While this year’s Biennial will be doing without it’s uptown counterpart, the Park Avenue Armory, The Whitney Museum will play hostess with the mostess to the most influential names in art TODAY. From The Bruce High Quality Foundation to Aurel Schmidt, the Whitney will expose – for the good, the bad and everything in between – where we are today. Art is one of those larger sensibilities, one that reflects our philosophies, aesthetics, economics and hopes. Art is a mirror on our world.

But more than just ‘art,’ I like to think of the Whitney Biennial as a huge experiment. Looking back at the last, where tequila bars and pink painted rockstars were all presented as definitions of the contemporary state of artistic affairs, whether you agree with the curation of the show or not, there is no doubt that the Whitney leaves itself open to welcomed debate.

That’s right folks, its that time of the month again. First Friday. As you may or may not be aware, the first Friday of every month transforms into Art After Dark at the Guggenheim. It’s basically a rawkus party. The museum stays open into the wee hours, full of bars and drinking and art and DJ’s bumping tunes that float up the winding ramp and fill the entire place with sound. If you’ve never experienced Art After Dark at the Guggenheim, go. However, we recommend getting there especially early tonight, because a star DJ-duo is in town, and long lines may be in order. World-class CHROMEO will be spinning tonight at the Guggenheim. So get your high-society museum-mile suite on, and match it with some dancing shoes.

Photo by  Ian Meyers used under a Creative Commons License.

My weekends in New York always start the same way. I’ll sleep until seven on Saturday if I’m lucky, then kill the time until my boyfriend wakes up by tidying his apartment. As I remove the empty Tostitos packet and beer bottles that usually surround the TV (consumed by him in front of a basketball game, in the hours after I passed out following my transatlantic flight) he’ll occasionally wake up enough to mumur, “Babe, stop making so much noise”. He lives in a studio – a converted ballroom on the UES – and we’ve learnt that being in two different time zones in one room is hell on our sleeping habits.

I met Anthony last year when I was working in New York. I was living in New Jersey at the time, but when we met at Anchor Bar in SoHo, I lied about being one of the bridge and tunnel crowd and made up an address in Chelsea. I had to come clean when he tried to walk me home one night following tapas at Alta in the West Village, but amazingly our relationship survived. After a summer of late dinners at the Pearl Oyster Bar and lazy afternoons on his rooftop introducing him to Pimm’s, we decided to stay together when I had to move back to London.

Now I visit New York about once a month, just for the weekend if I can’t get time off work. I’ve become an expert at fitting everything I want to do into two days – seeing exhibitions at the Guggenheim or the Whitney, trying new restauarants or visiting old favourites (can never go wrong with the Spotted Pig or Tortilla Flats) and speedy shopping trips to stock up on Bliss Spa products at Sephora and discounted Calvin Klein underwear at Century 21. In the summer, trips revolve around Shakespeare in the Park and seeing the sculptures on the roof garden at the Met. In the winter, we spend rainy afternoons playing Scrabble in Fat Cat and eating pretzel dogs at the Rusty Knot.

I’ve even begun to make the most of my flights – on the way there I watch 3 in-flight movies in a row and on the way back on the Sunday night red eye I pop a Tylenol PM, meaning I’m wide awake and rested by the time I’m at my desk at 9.30 on Monday morning.

My carefully orchestrated schedule is all dependent on Anthony waking up in the morning though. It doesn’t always happen, no matter how long I spend hovering over him with cups of coffee, hoping to be taken to brunch downtown at the Cornelia St Café. Luckily I’m just as happy with scrambled eggs in the apartment.

Check out a list of all the places EmilyJ has mentioned on her post right here…

Photos by physmike and andybrannan used under a Creative Commons License

Behold! Oh, the rivers of New York! From the Hudson to the East, along downtown Manhattan to the edges of Brooklyn, from Governor’s Island to the extremities of Queens, it is easy to loose oneself daydreaming of how the first inhabitants must have felt approaching this city. What did Henry Hudson feel ascending on this island?

Right now at one of my favorite museums of this city, The Museum of New York, one can loose themselves viewing historic images of the city’s waterfront and its transformation during the 20th century. View images that catalogue the city’s edges and how much the tides have changed…

and just an aside…123 years ago today, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated to New York Harbor by President Cleveland

Looking for some odds and ends to tie up your weekend?

First off, New York’s famous little playhouse, The Abrons Arts Center and Henry Street Settlement, which brings innovative artistic excellence to Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is teaming up with MoMa this weekend for a unique Performance Series. Being that this is Metrotwin and all, it’s only appropriate to mention that Abrons will play host to a UK import: Turner Prize winning artist Mark Lecky’s In the Long Tail (2009): “Part lecture, part monologue, part living sculpture” based on the “Long Tail Theory” of internet-based economics, all taking place within his multi-media backdrop.

Friday eve also happens to be the First Friday of the month, which means: Art After Dark at the Guggenheim. These evenings never disappoint with a crowded rotunda full of booming DJ spins and current bombastic Kandinsky works hanging. The mixture of crowd, cool and cocktails is a sure Friday night win-win.

Photo courtesy of Christine Butler with Creative Commons License.

And finally, for those with Sunday blues, try going to The Philoctetes Center for Multidisciplinary Study of the Imagination, established to promote an integrated approach to the understanding of creativity and imagination. October 4th, the center is offering a free panel discussion at 2.30 focusing on Imposters, Forgery, Fraud, and Illusion.