Miles's blog

Meg and I went to the Museum of Modern Art yesterday. We have been to MOMA before, often arguing about the quality of the artwork. We had one memorable debate, perhaps a bit too loudly when Meg believed that a canvas painted completely white, was a legitimate work of art (as obviously did the curator from MOMA) while I said it was mere affectation, not art but arrogance. Truly, the only way you could tell it from the wall it was hung on was because of the frame. Art? Seriously?

We had no such disagreements yesterday at the retrospective of the art of Willem de Kooning. De Kooning was a major art figure of the 20th Century, gaining significance in the 40s and creating important works of art until shortly before his death in 1997. De Kooning is primarily known as an “abstract expressionist” a term which has no meaning for me. I have always thought of de Kooning as an abstract painter from the same school as Jackson Pollock, but he was much more varied than Pollock. The exhibit contained a large number of pieces, partly because he was so prolific. It was not unusual to see a dozen paintings from a single year.

By any measure, his work was impressive. Of course, I thought some were not so great, but by and large I loved most of the work. (I know you are thinking: “What does Miles know about art?” Nothing. But I know what I like and it is a free country, so I will blog that stuff is good or bad based upon my tastes.) De Kooning was known for both abstracts and figures, colors and black and white, painting and sculpture (although frankly, I thought the sculpture was putrid). We spent more than two hours in this exhibit. The curator did a terrific job. A lot of the work belongs to private collectors (including some from record producer David Geffen). The exhibit is presented chronologically and you can really see how de Kooning moved through phases in his career. The signage is kind of weak, unfortunately. I wish it described his life a little more, rather than just repeating the same analysis of brushstrokes. Still, I learned a lot about this artist.

Meg’s interest in fine art does not come from her father. I like art, but Meg’s mom is the artist, and really imbued in Meg a love of painting and other arts. I cannot say we agree always. Last year Meg repeatedly returned to MOMA to see a performance artist sit at a table for seven hours a day (what bladder control!) and stare at the chair across a table from her. People sat in the chair sometimes, and she just stared. That was her performance. Professional starer. Not art to me, but she presented at MOMA.

Meg and I had a real New York day. After MOMA (which I joined to allow me to go for the rest of the year without additional cost), we went down to Rockefeller Center to see the most famous Christmas tree in the world. I had never seen the tree. I know it is a cliché and that I don’t even celebrate Christmas, but it is an impressive sight.
You cannot get a sense on television of how big the tree really is. According to Wikipedia it is 74 feet tall, or about the height of a seven-story building. Next to Rockefeller Center, over 800 feet tall, the tree doesn’t look all that big. But standing at the base the tree seems to climb high into the sky, the lights making for a glittering and inspiring show. At the top sits a huge star, which you can’t appreciate from the ground, but for which a duplicate sits on a stand across the street.

Thousands of people crowded into the Plaza, most either taking pictures or having their picture taken. I made Meg pose in front of the tree.
Beneath sits the tiny ice rink, filled with little kids wobbily trying to skate, while their older siblings glide around demonstrating the achievements of years of lessons. Meg and I looked at each other while standing above the rink and reminded ourselves of why we live here.

I walked back to Grand Central past the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue.
I was disappointed. They did not match the store windows of Marshall Field & Co. I remember going to see as a child in Chicago. I took a picture or two and will try to get it on here and on my Facebook page. I plan to spend more time looking at windows later. The windows of Barney’s apparently are Lady Gaga-themed because they have a Lady Gaga store. I am not sure I want to go out of my way to see those.

On every corner of Fifth Avenue is a pushcart selling roasted chestnuts. I am not a big chestnut fan, but if you like Mel Torme songs, it is easy to buy a bag. (I think the bag is about $4.50). I have no idea if they were roasted on an open fire. But Jack Frost was definitely nipping at my nose (which admittedly is a large target for him).

Also, while walking around I got cold and went into Trump Tower. Guess who was in there? That is right...the Donald himself. My camera didn't work so I didn't get a shot, but he walked right past me. He is getting older and frankly, his hair didn't look that great.

I wish I could report that the crowds were imbued with the Christmas spirit and filled with joy for their fellow man. Sadly, no. They were just as pushy as always.