I have been to the Tenement Museum twice, and recomended it to several friends. It’s a fantastic place to see and hear how immigrants lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I highly recomend taking a tour, especially if your family came to America through New York.
Earlier this month, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum was one of ten museums and libraries awarded the 2008 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the country’s “highest honor for institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.” The Institute of Museum and Library Services honors these institutions for “reach[ing] out to people of all ages and backgrounds and invite them to explore our wonderfully diverse history, culture, and literature.”
via Gothamist: Federal Honors for Tenement Museum
Tagged: museums, Tenement Museum on October 25, 2008 by TJ Rutkowski
Last weekend, I visited the Frick and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. There were a couple portraits that I immediately connected with at the Frick, but it took me a little longer to appreciate the exhibits at Cooper-Hewitt.
The current exhibition on the first floor is called House Proud. It includes magnificently detailed watercolors of 19th century homes–snapshots of family homes without the families. It feels a little like you’re flipping through real estate ads, looking at images staged to invoke strong and personal feelings.
On the second floor, there is a prototype for affordable housing being built in China. In stark contrast to many of the paintings on the first floor, the example of high-density urban living seemed extremely cold. After seeing the 19th century homes, the 450 square foot footprint for a family of four was difficult to appreciate.
I’ve thought about the two exhibits several times over the past week, and I’m beginning to appreciate the similarities of the two exhibits. Both depict the intimacy of family life, as well as the integration with community. In the watercolors, community is brought into the family home with grand spaces designed for entertaining. The Chinese sense of community comes through in shared space. More than 200 dorm-like apartments share common areas for eating, relaxing, and hosting guests.
I have lived in cities and dorms for much of my life, and it’s impressive that the watercolors took me so deep into the 19th century that I temporarily lost my connection to urban life.
Tagged: Cooper-Hewitt, Frick, museums on October 19, 2008 by TJ Rutkowski
The Frick has been on my list of New York City sites for quite some time, and today I made the trip. I suggest using the audio guide when you go to get a colorful commentary from the curators. The diversity of the collection is striking. While I enjoyed the paintings, sculpture, furniture, rugs, and architecture, two portraits stood out for me.
Whistler captured Comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac in a simple and dark moment. The portrait is full-length and seemingly life sized. When looking into Montesquiou’s face, there is ghostly connection capturing your gaze and bringing you into the solemn moment.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler 1834 – 1903
Arrangement in Black and Gold: Comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac, 1891-1892
oil on canvas
82 1/8 in. x 36 1/8 in. (208.6 cm x 91.76 cm)
In contrast to dark connection Whistler makes, Bronzino tells a story of youth in his portrait of Lodovico Capponi. Capponi appears confident in his pose and costume, but the intricate details of the buttons on his vest, the layers of fabric, the stitching, and the locket in his hand speak to a life and world he is still learning to navigate.
Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano Bronzino (1503 – 1572)
Lodovico Capponi, 1550-1555
oil on poplar panel
45 7/8 in. x 33 3/4 in. (116.52 cm x 85.73 cm)
While these paintings are currently on display, the collection rotates and they are not always hanging.
Tagged: Bronzino, Frick, museums, Whistler on October 11, 2008 by TJ Rutkowski
