Impressions

Colourful Lady Liberties

NYC of course!

Well, I’ve been busy talking about everyone else.  So here’s just a very few of my favourites – a quick rush, a few brain freeze moments and lots of memories.



UN Building

Textile Town

And lastly...


Beep Beep

New York = Shopping

Quilt (or Guilt) Tripping No#3

Looking for quilting shops in NYC?  Then don’t go past these offerings. 

CityQuilter is my favourite and what’s more its new gallery opened on 5^th April 2011 as a textile art (contemporary art quilts) just next door.  On the day I visited I was lucky to have caught the fabulous work of Japanese artist, Noriko Endo.  Her exhibition entitled “ImpressionistQuilts” describes intricate fabric placement and subtle colour treatment.  Noriko works in what has been described as fabric confetti – a challenging way of working and rather radical if you think about the way we traditionally piece.  Needle and thread out the door!  Templates to the four corners of my earth!  Now where’s that glue gun?  Silliness aside, well done to City Quilter and here’s wishing the Gallery a long and bright future. 

While there, I added to my stash of NYC prints (as one must) and now the product of my purchase is under Bertie Bernina getting a good all over quilt.  Photos eventually – work progresses slowly.  Four bobbins a day, for 2 solid days of work and only a ¼ of the way done….

Purl Soho.  Purl brings new meaning to the word haberdashery.  This little store is jam packed with modern, fresh fabric designs and loads of bright colourful yarns and sewing accessories.  Their web site is as bright and upmarket as the shop.  The ladies are especially helpful and I found a great George Washington print to add to my NYC collection.

SewMaterialistic, Brooklyn.  I didn’t visit unfortunately so I can’t recommend this store first-hand.  However, I was told it was worth making an effort and is in easy reach.  Just gotta make it over that bridge.  Well, maybe on my next visit?  Meanwhile, there’s always the internet to ogle at their fabric range…

Out & About at MOMA

Washerwomen by Gauguin

I’ve tried to get into MOMA before.  On the first occasion it was closed due to a changing exhibition and on the second, an exhibition was about to open.  Crowds spilled out onto the footpath and I slunk away not wishing to fight off the masses to see those tempting treasures within. 

So, when I finally made it past the front door, I didn’t rush and happily browsed old masters (like Matisse and Odilon Redon) and new works alike. 

For once though, I didn’t take notes, just enjoyed being there, letting it wash over me; taking it all in - a lot to see and do and in only one day. 

Symbolist, Odilon Redon

I did take a few photos but missed getting a few from Boris Mikhailov in the Case History exhibition.  I thought his work, almost larger-than-life, was particularly stunning.  Graphic though.  I felt at times to be too exposed as the viewer.  I wanted to peek through my fingers to somehow escape his world.

 
I also found the contemporary drawing exhibition, I Am Still Alive, to be oddly compelling but it too wasn’t textile related. I did like the basic concept however that linked art and writing, then twisted it DNA fashion to give it a new character. 

Finally, I found paintings with textile references which inspired me.  Firstly this one by Romare Bearden (1911-1988) entitled Patchwork Quilt (1970).  The background is collaged fabric and there is a certain pharaonic feel about the piece. Love it!

Patchwork Quilt by Romare Beardon

Then Robert Rauschenberg’s (1925-2008) not so cosy, quilt covered Bed (1955) took my eye. 

The texture on this sculpture below put me in mind of some embroidery I had seen once.  Nice big stitches, a bit of discharge dyeing and a few exposed seams.  Back to the drawing board for me then!

 Finally, a fantastic Matisse to learn a lot about using colour with zing.  Wandering a gallery can be such an inspiring thing!  I always leave full of great ideas and new techniques to try or apply to my quilting.  So I highly recommend a visit.

Back to New York

American Folk Art Museum

Wanting to catch more of AFAM’s offerings, I dashed off into Manhattan by bus.  I peered through locked doors at West 53^rd Street.  The walls were empty and only one or two people milled inside.  Worse, the gift shop was gone…….

So I went into the MOMA instead (but more on that later).  When I got back home, I “googled” to find what had happened to that wonderful treasury of folk art and quilts.  The sad story of lofty ambitions, lack of finances and poor attendance records (comparatively to outgoing expenses), amongst other things, came to light.  The architect’s design came in for a hammering and a promised gift never realised was revealed.  Worse still, the AFAM itself was under threat of closure and its collection to be dispersed.

Gaaaaaassssp!!!!

I must say that I quite liked the AFAM’s former spaces.  It seemed cosy and I felt close to all the pieces exhibited.  Somehow, I think that quilts made for smaller spaces like homes, don’t always look their best when displayed in warehouse surrounds.  Despite its size, the Met also works for me in the same way.  Its huge areas contain rooms which may contain even more rooms.  So, there’s something distinctly Alice about both venues. 

The exhibition I saw last year at the AFAM didn’t look to be barely contained by the space – it fitted in well and there was a good representation of quilts; enough to give me an idea of the history of quiltmaking in the US.  Not everyone who comes in to see the exhibition is a quilt historian with a master’s degree.  The staging was simple and effectively communicated its message in the same way that each quilt tells us a story about their maker.

 

The other exhibition at the time was an intimate portrait of a man who made art because he was driven to it.  I’ve mentioned Henry Darger (1892-1973) previously.  His work, and its meaning, would have been totally lost on four walls of a larger gallery space.  The intimacy of the AFAM in some way sharpened my understanding of how and why he worked the way he did. 

What I did find on my internet search however, was that AFAM, in its transition, had secured gallery space on 66^th & Broadway.  Something made me want to get on that bus and visit.

Now, before you get too excited, this space was rather like entering a small underground mausoleum.  The door was difficult to open and the quilts were hung in a way that shouted, “This is the best we can do under current circumstances!!”.  The guards and shop staff were friendly but it all seemed to hang on an air of despondency.  Decisions had not been made about the Museums continuation, serious funds and sponsors were needed and acquisitions were under threat of being re-homed.  

As I left the gallery though, I noticed a quilt dedicated to those lost in the 9/11 (2001) disaster, The National Tribute Quilt.  I had been too busy looking at the gift shop to see it as I came in – all 8 x 30 feet of it!  Do you believe in fate?  Well I certainly do!  There in the corner was the name of a friend.  I took several photos and emailed them off to my workmates.  I learned that a 10 year memorial service was being organised by her family in Sydney. 

(A later note: I understand the AFAM is in a better place now and its permanence assured.  Well done to the rescuers and all those who fretted – enough to care - for its safety.)

Additional Insight

While on the topic of visionary artists, and I’m not sure if he fits that “category” but have you seen the textile art of Jimmy McBride?  I picked up a copy of Quilters Newsletter Magazine to catch up on my fibre arts fix, and there in issue # 423 (Aug/Sep 2011) was a 4 page spread on Jimmy’s work.  Like Von Bruenchenhein, he works in a science fiction narrative but in this case develops quilts using reclaimed textiles.  What I have found particularly inspiring is that he works in series.  You can clearly see how his ideas have developed and grown; how he has experimented with various techniques to effect and made ready-made fabrics look like they've been taken from a palette of oils.  So, spend some time browsing Jimmy McBride’s inspirational quilts over on his web site and be prepared to learn….. 

Find insight into his creative process on his blog and enjoy the quilting narrative.  I like the idea of stepping outside of yourself and having a storyline to help focus your creative endeavours.  His other sewing projects include a few clothes – shirts and jeans.  So good to see the art of home “dressmaking” as my grannie called it, is surviving and looking good against an overabundance of cheap Chinese imports.  When you’re done, you can see more of Jimmy’s quilts on etsy. 

While we’re on a theme – how about these outa spacey fabrics from Sew Materialistic in Brooklyn!  Is there something going on in Brooklyn we don’t know about?

American Folk Art Museum

During our stay in NYC (Sep 2010) I managed to get to the AFAM - wouldn’t you know it, it was partially closed to install an exhibition.  That exhibition (she said breathing deeply) was Quilts: Masterworks from the AFAM – a two part exhibition and a book big enough to gulp my entire baggage allowance in one foul swoop. 

Thankfully bad weather had a quilted lining and our side trip to Washington meant that I could manage a few hours at the exhibition a few days later.  His Nibs kindly agreed to catch an even later bus back to our floating home at Great Kills Harbor (he'd discovered Sotherbys). 

I started off by just looking; trying to take it all in.  The range of quilts was amazing and made me want to rush home and start something new.  (Oh, that cursed UFO box!)  I then saw other people taking photographs so I spent some time hoping my camera would adjust successfully to the low light levels.  

Not all my photos turned out, but enough for a memory jogger as I knew that wonderful book was well beyond my a. budget and b. luggage allowance.  After that, and now with security guards watching me through slitted eyes, I started taking notes.  

Don't you just love that wall colour!!

So, in some sort of historic order, (and almost cryptic summary) we were treated to quilted examples of:

Whole Cloth (1750 to 1850): British legacy & flaunting large pieces of expensive cloth

Chintz & Stencilled (1775 to 1865): showed colonialism’s reach to the Far East

Pieced (1840 to present) meaning, tradition and ritual became strong in designs

Amish (1849): beauty in simplicity and restraint; a strict pattern code

Applique (1840 to 1900’s): in particular Baltimore style’s ravishing storytelling

Log Cabin (1860): described as the beginning of an American “style” and shows pioneering spirit

Crazy (1880 to 1910): quilted, embroidered and enhanced, Victorian in every way; exposure to Japanese crazed ceramics and asymmetrical art at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition

Signature (1900’s): raising money for good deeds and sharing in times of need

Show or Exhibition (1900’s): introducing cultural & technological advances to an amazed public (Edwardian society)

Colonial Revival (1910-1950): looking to the past for inspiration; represented an ideal rather than reality; felt a need for a simpler life

African American (1920): famous for pushing the limits of our concept of quilt design and manufacture

Contemporary (1960): again the start of a revival; taking new directions and for some no holds barred 

Again, I stress that I don’t want to be too prescriptive.  There are far too many quilt historians out there who really do know what they are on about.  I did find one or two interesting sites to satisfy my curiosity however.  Try Barbara Brackman's Civil War blog (and see if you can't resist making up her weekly blocks!) or this historical summary on Quilters Bee.  There are plenty of others too. 

I don't know about you, but I suffer from time to time with patchwork burnout. You'll recognise the symptoms - lack of inspiration or motivation, wondering why you need to make another quilt, walking past your machine without even stopping to pat it....  I could go on.  Let me tell you, seeing quilts hanging, even if you organise a showing of your own or your group's (finished or not!) is very heart lifting.  So, well done to the AFAM. I’m just sorry I couldn’t get to see Part 2 of the exhibit.

Back to the Met then off to AFAM

I was going to deal with the Met and AFAM together but… 

I spent another whole day (Sep10) surfing the corridors of the Met in NYC.  Again, it was wonderful and again disappointingly, I only covered so little of it.  This time however, my camera died and all I have to show is a couple of photos of paintings by Surrealist, Yves Tanguy.  So this is my Yves Tanguy story. 

Many years ago (truly) a friend challenged me to depict his favourite poem, “The House of Yves Tanguy” by French Poet Andre Breton (1939).  I had visions of bright stars lying scattered like sequins on a velvety dark "night" – more Vincent Van Gogh style – and had not been able to conceptualise beyond that. A little bit corny and not really textile arty!  Clearly I had not seen any work by Tanguy!

The Met however gave me a real buzz.  This was my opportunity to see up close & personal, Tanguy’s amazing surrealist pieces. Described as some of the strangest paintings ever created, my preconceived ideas were challenged!  So after some thought, I’ve taken up my challenge, again - something decorative; something stimulating; something remote. Mind you, there isn’t a whole lot to show for this revival in interest at the moment other than these photos and the odd bit of surfing to discover what surrealism is all about (and what Breton was on about).  Isn’t it rather odd that Breton, author of automatic writing (writing without deliberate thought) requires, if indeed I am to finish above mentioned challenge, so much research and careful thought!      

Another UFO in the making...although, don't hold your breath!

Textile Offerings

Ancient Peruvian Textile

Everyone will tell you that NY is a Fashion City.  Labels are simply everywhere and sold in emporiums like Macy's and Bloomingdales, not to mention those 5th Ave Boutiques.  However, here's a roundup of textiles that interested me.

We stopped in Bloomingdales briefly and discovered, quite by chance, a showing of Batman costumes (on the men's level). Of course, how could you take your eyes off that amazing catwoman outfit worn by Michelle Pfeiffer?  Other stunning outfits included Danny DeVito's Penguin, Jim Carey's Riddler and the very detailed gown worn by Poison Ivy. This display won a quiet gold star from us - no crowds, no noise and a close up view of all that detailed stitchery.  Batman or not, it did not inspire himself to run off and buy a pair of cute, designer undies.

Natural History Museum

The Lion King on Broadway was our next stop.  It is a stunning musical with creative, colourful costumes galore - and we really loved the themed music. The puppeteer's costumes lean heavily on Mbuti mudcloth designs whilst Simba and Scar wear Kuba designs.  The only photo op presented itself at the entrance to the theatre (Rafiki), but at least it's one to take home. There are plenty of web sites out there giving you some idea if you haven't had the chance to see the play.

Lobby Kuba Cloth

Speaking of African cloth, it took me a few days to realise that our apartment building used textiles as lobby artworks.  A nice applique piece of woven raffia Kuba cloth is displayed on the ground floor; the pic isn't good as it was in an awkward position in the lobby and I had to be discreet...  The motif is said to be the most common in Kuba craftwork and is known as "the tail of a dog".  Otherwise, I saw on other floors embroidered pieces of Indian origin.  It would have been nice to know what else was on display.

The Museum of Natural History had some fabulous costumes and other textiles.  I've included a few shots - most are through glass so there's some reflection and, of course, flash is not allowed.  I didn't note the specifics of each unfortunately, so this is my excuse to go back if I want to list them all.  Now that I think back, it would have been interesting to find out where they managed to find those vivid pinks and light blues.  Are they ancient vegetable dye recipes?   Certainly silks for the Korean costumes dyed during the Confucian period must have been.

Even marble can look like a diaphanous textile

Metal Suits for Man & Beast

I didn't follow up on costume in the Met having been so overwhelmed by furnishings and décor.  But these few photos look at textiles from a different perspective. I believe that knights of old used to wear quilted garments under that heavy armour.  And clothing was all hand stitched in those days.

Not textile but lots of gold leaf expertly applied and so inspirational

My favourite guide for textiles has generally been "World Textiles" by Gillow and Sentance, 1999.  What is yours?

Side Orders

Our NY City Survival Guide - more or less!

Look who's out for a walk too...

We purchased a weekly bus pass.  It was an excellent and very convenient way to travel around the city.  

Trusty runners (good walking shoes) were also very helpful.  You really feel less like a tourist on a hectic schedule and notice lots more on shank’s ponies (two legs!).  

We also have folding bikes (on floating home, WJ3), which are very handy when transport is not so common and interesting things are a bit out of the way.  I’m not sure I’d be game to ride in downtown NY.  All that traffic and driving on the wrong side of the road!

No Fashionista but at least dry...

Circle Line Tours or similar hop on/hop off orientation tours might seem a bit twee but are well worth the money.  We usually take them early in our stay to familiarise ourselves with new surroundings and to help in making those all important decisions about our "must sees".  

In NYC we did even better; we had a local guide who knew all the best spots.  

And if he didn’t, he had friends who did…. 

Meals are huge.  Be warned that for Australians abroad in NY, a US entrée is our main and OZ entrée is our starter.  Got it?  Don’t order an entrée size thinking you will be doing a good thing for your waistline.  We also found that ordering an entrée might also mean just a meat serving.  Vegetables or salad then comes as a side order at an additional cost.  Eating out or even ordering a coffee is just, well, part of the scene in NY.  A kitchen - what’s that?

Just everyone eats out!

Another Grump out on the Street!

Avoid tourist hot-spots and eat where the locals eat - goes without saying really!  We wanted to take our host out for a nice dinner.  Lured by the view from a revolving restaurant near Times Square, we were quite unprepared to be stitched over.  The expensive buffet left a lot to be desired.

There are grumps everywhere, aren't there! 

Inside the Frame

Inspiring Guggenheim spiral

His Captainship had been summonsed to a meeting of like-minded blokes, so GS was free….free to wander museums and galleries.  First stop, the Guggenheim, Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece.  Inside was a fabulous display - a Kandinsky retrospective featuring almost 100 of his colourful and energetic canvases.  Kandinsky’s works had been Wright’s inspiration for the design of the building some 50 years ago.  It is hard to believe that these modern works were dated between 1896 and 1944.  I could have stayed for a week but hurried on not wanting to miss the Met.

Dizzy Heights

Just a little further down 5th Ave is the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  A vast Gothic structure built in 1874, the Met is credited with being one of the world’s largest art galleries.  It was into this vast space that I wandered; with little time and without a plan of action.   After meandering through the sizable Egyptian section, it slowly dawned on me that this was not a display of collected objects.  Everything, including architectural pieces was real. Overcome, I negotiated my way to the busy café and whilst sipping coffee came up with a plan.  Guided tours had been advertised at the main entrance.  Albeit that would only cover a fraction of fraction of the exhibits, but at least I would understand what I saw.

A Very Grand & busy Met

At exactly 2.15pm our guide expertly led us on a tour of royal furniture and stately European rooms 17th & 18^th C.    I busily admired furniture, fittings, paintings, carpets, textiles and decorative bric-a-brac.  “This is Marie Antoinette’s desk”, said his Guideship.  “Fabulous job of the room”, I said.  “Who does the set designs?  They must spend a lot of time researching to get it looking so real.”  “It is real”, he said.  Gassssssp!  Apparently some “rooms” came to the US by way of wealthy New Yorkers who imported them into their apartments.  Later, they donated them to the Met.  Oh, to have an unfashionable drawing room once used by Louis XIV!  After the tour, I managed to find my way over to the American Wing, recently refurbished to include several period rooms.  Best of all, I could stand in a Frank Lloyd Wright room seeing it as if he had “just stepped out for a moment”. 

I have vowed to come back......

Great Design everywhere you look

 

Circling Manhattan

The Real Thing

Monday began our Circle Tour experience.  Hmmm!  We took an uptown tour with a guide we could barely understand.   Despite this we were taken good care of, issued with capes in case of precipitation and thoroughly entertained.  The tour wasn’t too bad either…   Then it was time to hit the waves again.  Down in Hell’s Kitchen, we boarded a large Circle Line ferry for a 3 hour cruise round Manhattan.  Somehow, and I’m still not sure why, we ended up at the bow (the pointy bit at the front) doing a titanic, jostling with crowds and freezing our butts off.  Afterwards, we made a B line for Finnegan’s Wake for more comfort food and warming reds.  As you do!

  

World Trade Center Re-Build

Day two of our Circle Tour began at Central Park South waiting for a downtown bus.  Although our guide was very good, we wanted to see the World Trade Center site/memorial and pay our respects to colleague and friend, Yvonne K, who was tragically killed in 9/11 (Flight 77).  We searched for a “temporary” memorial but found instead a tourist pay-for-view; very tacky indeed given the circumstances. 

OK, so who let Skippy out again?

Back on the bus, we crossed town for a whirlwind Brooklyn Tour. Departure was delayed as we became embroiled in a stop work/pay dispute.  Our guide was not happy with Management’s managing and had staged a walk-out.  We waited and waited for another bus to arrive.  No such luck.  Cues just got longer and became even more fidgety.  Finally, he decided we could get underway.  Being on board though resembled a trade union meeting attended by a bunch of vocal brickies labourers.  Some fellow travellers fled the bus, others sympathised and we wondered if it was all just good, blue collar theatre. Fair Dinkum!  All I could remember of Brooklyn afterwards was a sign near the zoo with a few bouncing kangaroos.    

 

The sun was setting and we made a dash for the Rockefeller Center which had been suggested by locals as worth a visit.  It was not crowded, had nice views over Central Park and nearby Empire State Building and was quite an architectural gem in its own right.  It was breathtaking.

After taking too many photos, we moved on downtown to Times Square.  We had booked ourselves in for a Broadway treat, The Lion King.  That too was spectacular.

The Cap’n and crew wandered homeward, stopping at JG Melon on 3^rd for a bite to eat.  On the wall was a photo of Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep - sitting at our table, sorting out their divorce!  JG Melon’s had been used for filming some scenes from Kramer Vs Kramer (1979). 

Ahhh, fame is never really far from you in New York!