back to reality
alas, i am returning to my recently neglected blog to post a few thoughts on nothing in particular... i decided to create a totally different blog about my travels... there are a few listings on this blog, but they'll be copied, along with pictures, stories, etc... once that is underway, i'll post the link here... if anyone is interested...
while being back here has not necessarily been the most enthralling thing, i'm slowly adjusting back to my life here in (well, okay... just outside) one of the greatest cities in the world. a stronger currency would do better in its bid for being the greatest... but that's a rant for another blog or another day.
thanksgiving was a great time to return though. i don't think i've eaten so well for so many consecutive days since last year... while that may be a slight exaggeration, it isn't too much of one. since i was led to believe that i would be jet-lagged after my travels, i was not enthralled by the prospect of hopping right back on a plane for detroit. that wasn't nearly as much as a deterrent as the prices the airlines were trying to charge...
while i was the model of lethargy over the past couple of days, i did venture out to see the newly re-designed MOMA. it opened last weekend while i was away. while i was inundated in cultural stuff abroad... i may as well get it at home too. needless to say, a couple of folks decided to meet up and head to the museum... the mission was a bust!! no one accounted for the thousands of folks (slight exaggeration, perhaps) of folks/tourists/etc. that would be in line by late afternoon to see the museum. at that moment, it became clear that this museum that receive much hype for its new design, would have to be visited one day after work.
after deliberation... and a trip to starbucks... the white chocolate mocha was tasty!!... it was decided that we'd venture to the cooper-hewitt national design museum, which according to one person was near the natural history museum (which is at central park west & like 82nd)... needless to say, this individual was TOTALLY off... lol. after a call to 411, we were headed to 2 east 91st street... much to our surprise, the museum resides in the old carnegie mansion!
there were two major exhibits in the museum. the first was looking at the fine line between design and art, particularly with the functionality of objects. there was a great quote by henry david thoreau, it isn't what you look at, but what you see that did a wonderful job of summing up the pieces in the exhibit. many of the artists/designers who had pieces in this exhibit. some aimed to produce art, others aimed to design, while others still sought to blur the lines. it posed an interesting question... particularly with functionality. most of the pieces did not seem to have been created/designed with the end-user in mind... for instance, there were a plethora of chairs and stools and couches that did NOT seem to be the most comfortable. what they lacked in comfort, they made up for in aestetics (generally). does form follow function, or does function follow form? this seems to be something grappled with by each of the indivuals whose work was displayed. hmmm, that is a discussion for the ages. i am of the opinion that pieces were designed with both an aesthetic quality and functional quality in mind... neither of which prevailed.
the other major exhibit was josef and anni albers... a couple that often elope between the worlds of art and design... they were a couple that produced works during the early twentieth century. they never collaborated on projects, which is odd to me because they lived together and were married. their work was fairly interesting... some pieces spoke more than others...
perhaps i had reached my limit for museum intake within a specific period of time... but should i feel bad for being more enamored with the mansion than with the art on display?
the size of the rooms and the light that was able to enter... WOW!
well, guess it is back to the grind... manana, i must try to recall what it is like to get up early and venture in to the office... perhaps i can keep the ideals of london & work to live...
cheers, mate!
while being back here has not necessarily been the most enthralling thing, i'm slowly adjusting back to my life here in (well, okay... just outside) one of the greatest cities in the world. a stronger currency would do better in its bid for being the greatest... but that's a rant for another blog or another day.
thanksgiving was a great time to return though. i don't think i've eaten so well for so many consecutive days since last year... while that may be a slight exaggeration, it isn't too much of one. since i was led to believe that i would be jet-lagged after my travels, i was not enthralled by the prospect of hopping right back on a plane for detroit. that wasn't nearly as much as a deterrent as the prices the airlines were trying to charge...
while i was the model of lethargy over the past couple of days, i did venture out to see the newly re-designed MOMA. it opened last weekend while i was away. while i was inundated in cultural stuff abroad... i may as well get it at home too. needless to say, a couple of folks decided to meet up and head to the museum... the mission was a bust!! no one accounted for the thousands of folks (slight exaggeration, perhaps) of folks/tourists/etc. that would be in line by late afternoon to see the museum. at that moment, it became clear that this museum that receive much hype for its new design, would have to be visited one day after work.
after deliberation... and a trip to starbucks... the white chocolate mocha was tasty!!... it was decided that we'd venture to the cooper-hewitt national design museum, which according to one person was near the natural history museum (which is at central park west & like 82nd)... needless to say, this individual was TOTALLY off... lol. after a call to 411, we were headed to 2 east 91st street... much to our surprise, the museum resides in the old carnegie mansion!
there were two major exhibits in the museum. the first was looking at the fine line between design and art, particularly with the functionality of objects. there was a great quote by henry david thoreau, it isn't what you look at, but what you see that did a wonderful job of summing up the pieces in the exhibit. many of the artists/designers who had pieces in this exhibit. some aimed to produce art, others aimed to design, while others still sought to blur the lines. it posed an interesting question... particularly with functionality. most of the pieces did not seem to have been created/designed with the end-user in mind... for instance, there were a plethora of chairs and stools and couches that did NOT seem to be the most comfortable. what they lacked in comfort, they made up for in aestetics (generally). does form follow function, or does function follow form? this seems to be something grappled with by each of the indivuals whose work was displayed. hmmm, that is a discussion for the ages. i am of the opinion that pieces were designed with both an aesthetic quality and functional quality in mind... neither of which prevailed.
the other major exhibit was josef and anni albers... a couple that often elope between the worlds of art and design... they were a couple that produced works during the early twentieth century. they never collaborated on projects, which is odd to me because they lived together and were married. their work was fairly interesting... some pieces spoke more than others...
perhaps i had reached my limit for museum intake within a specific period of time... but should i feel bad for being more enamored with the mansion than with the art on display?
the size of the rooms and the light that was able to enter... WOW!
well, guess it is back to the grind... manana, i must try to recall what it is like to get up early and venture in to the office... perhaps i can keep the ideals of london & work to live...
cheers, mate!
posted by natty nerd at 10:50 PM
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