A Day in NYC {part two}

MoMA was next on my NYC to-do. I’m pretty sure most of my family wouldn’t enjoy this museum (maybe my dad), but I really liked most of it! I really didn’t have a plan and with limited time, I didn’t get to see everything (somehow I managed to miss seeing Van Gogh’s Starry Nights L) but I did get to see the font exhibit that I had read about!! (I’m somehow on MoMA’s email list….) It was a part of their installation called Standard Deviations: Types and Families in Contemporary Design which encompassed more than just the fonts, but the basic idea was iterations of similar things. For example, they had a bunch of old Macs, all derived from the original one and a Smart car, which apparently you can replace the outside color by just ordering new plastic pieces. I really don’t think I’d fit well in smart car. The wide range of fonts they chose to showcase was also interesting, as was learning more about the history of each font. Yes, I’m a nerd - I also enjoyed watching the Helvetica documentary…you should watch it as well!

 

{fonts!}

I also stumbled upon their de Kooning retrospective, which had way to many galleries and I accidently started in the middle when it was arranged chronologically. I was not able to take pictures, but here is an example of his work:

 

{I actually really loved this piece, which surprised even myself}

Much of it was really really abstract, though one informational wall did say that he felt it necessary to put in at least one faintly recognizable shape (a house outline and a solitary finger in one piece) to kind of ‘anchor’ the viewer. I found that I just enjoyed the colors that he used and didn’t try to over analyze any painting. Many of the works were very large and I think they would be wonderful in a house that has large blank walls, bringing color and interest into a space without strictly defining it.

After spending only ~2.5 hours in there, I grabbed another subway to Cooper Union to see the installation by Celeste Pfau, Hannah’s friend. Called The Moss Phase, it was kind of a confusing exhibit for me, mainly because I didn’t even know the title at the time, let alone any background, but I really liked one particular installation:

It evoked this image of a family tree in a very dynamic fashion and I was fascinated by the faces hanging, softly illuminated from the dropped lightbulb.

I was also reminded of my roommates, Kali, Jenni, and Steph, when I saw this tent:

Not only would they go in, I felt that they would create a very similar space.

I was most impressed with the repeated leaf prints woven throughout the exhibit, the detail and fine features found in even the smallest prints was fantastic! I wanted all the little cards on the wall….

Next came the adventure of finding B & H Dairy, this Ukrainian place Hannah said I had to try. Now, if you know me and my lack of initiative in trying new foods, you might be surprised that I actually found this place and ate exactly what Hannah told me to get. There are a large number of Ukrainian places along the same street and I almost when to the wrong one, but it looked too nice to be the place Hannah described. B&H place was very much a hole-in-wall and the man who probably owns it clearly recognized me as not knowing what I was supposed to do/order. He kindly gave me a menu, but I had neglected to write down what exactly Hannah told me to get, but apparently the ‘something like dumplings?’ description was sufficient. I also got the hot borsht – a beet based soup, which unexpectedly came with Challah bread. There was so. much. food. And I wasn’t even that hungry, but I knew I had to try it before I left town.

{pierogies, borscht, and challah bread}

The bright red borscht was surprisingly good, I would totally eat it again. Not sure I could every make it, but I liked it. The challah bread was delicious, of course, but even better when dipped in the soup. The dumpling things, called pierogies apparently, were interesting. I got them fried (the guy asked me, ‘do you want them steamed or fried? Healthy or….good?’ I laughed and said definitely fried. I love fried foods….) they were these little fried cakes stuffed with a variety of things. I couldn’t bring myself to try to saurerkraut-mushroom one, mainly because I don’t like either of those food items. I did try the potato, cheese, and spinach perogies, of which I like the spinach ones the best, probably because they also had onions in them J. The potato was also good, but was kind of a lot of drier items with the outside part being of a similar texture. The cheese was my least favorite – I really didn’t like whatever cheese they put in it, but Hannah likes those, so she got them when we met up for the Ailey show J. Overall, it was a really good meal and I’m am really tempted to try to find a place in seattle similar to it (and the indian roll place!) but am pretty sure I’ll be unsuccessful. 

After quickly eating as much as I could (I finished both the borsht and the bread), I hopped another subway north and went to the Ailey show! Ailey show is going to be the whole next post :)