POLLYTALK FROM NEW YORK

RARE WORKS, THE BEST OF THE NEW YORK ART WORLD (c) By Polly Guerin

2012-01-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

Where else in the world could you find such rare treasures as the Old Masters, Rembrandt among them, indulge your cultural senses at the Winter Antiques Show, revisit the view rare costume illustrations by celebrated artists of the Art Deco era? Only in New York my friends, it’s the very Best of the Art World right here in New York City. Here’s the scoop!!!
REMBRANDT’S WORLD: Dutch Paintings from the Clement C. Moore collection at the Morgan Library & Museum, presenting over ninety drawings by some of the preeminent artists from the seventeenth century, is a testament to the concentration of talent in the Dutch Republic during the Golden Age. Although the period is associated with Rembrandt, there were many other extraordinary artists working at the time including van Rijn and his followers Ferdinand Bol, Abraham Bloemaert; and Jan van Goyen to name a few. Image: A Bird of Paradise by Johannes Bronckhorst (1648-1727) who had ample opportunity to study the exotic taxidemied birds imported into the port city of Hoorn. Other works include portraiture, marine views, landscapes, biblical and mythological narratives, genre scenes, and the natural world fueled their creative imaginations and will encourage you to take a magnifying glass to view this rare collection. Image: Aelbert Cuyp (1620-1691), Windmill by River, with a jetty in the foreground ca. 1640. Exhibit extends through April 29th. http://www.themorgan.org/.
YOUNG COLLECTORS NIGHT at the 58th annual Winter Antiques Show on Thursday January 26 is an exciting high energy evening for new collectors, art and design enthusiasts and emerging philanthropists. This year’s event includes an exclusive “Meet the Designers” reception with New York’s most illustrious interior designers, and Wendy Goodman, Design Editor of New York Magazine. A wealth of treasures on view include specialists in 18th and 19th century folk art paintings, 17th through 19th century American furniture, early American arms and armor, 20th century furniture and decorative objects, 20th century fine art and tribal art. The 2012 loan exhibition, Celebrating Historic Hudson Valley at 60: Rockefeller Patronage in Sleepy Hallow Country, marks the 60th anniversary of John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s founding of Sleepy Hallow Restoration, now historic Hudson Valley. At the Park Avenue Armory, 67th Street and Park Avenue, through January 29, 12:00 to 8:00 daily, except Sundays and Thursday, 12:00 to 6:00 pm. General admission $20. Young Designers tickets may be purchased online at www.winterantiquesshow.com.
COSTUME DESIGN: FANTASY INTO FASHION at LEONARD FOX RARE BOOKS is on view February 2-29 with a special ‘open to the public’ reception on February 2nd, from 6-9 pm. Early in the 20th century fashion periodicals reported on dance and theater, performers were known for their influence on contemporary dress, and original costumes designs offer insight into the creative process and the interconnectivity between the artistic fantasy of the stage and the dynamic commercial world of fashion. These rarely exhibited original works exemplify the rich creative exchange, international character and diversity of theatrical design documented by some of the most significant fashion illustrators of the Art Deco period including works by George Barbier, George Valmier, Charles Martin and Umberto Brunelleschi. At Leonard Fox Ltd., 790 Madison Ave. Suite 505. http://www.foxrarebooks.com/. T 212.879-7077.
THE ZIEGFELD SOCIETY/A WINTER MUSICAL BRUNCH is just the ticket to a Saturday afternoon’s entertainment of old world favorites, remembrances of the best of Ziegfeld’s songs on Saturday, January 28 from 1-4 pm at Café Loup, 105 West 13th St, just west of 6th Ave. Discard winter’s chill and plan for a delightful afternoon. Paid reservations are highly suggested. $30 members and $35 non-members. Pay online at http://www.theziegfeldsociety.com/.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’ll see you at the Ziegfeld Brunch and I might sing a song or two myself. Send Fan mail, always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. To visit Polly’s Blogs just click on the link in the right hand column on http://www.pollytalk.com/.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY SHOWCASING ART AND ANTIQUES(c) By Polly Guerin

2012-01-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

An eclectic mix of art and design, gallery openings and the American Antiques show all settle down in the Big Apple this week. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very Best of Cultural Diversity to bring you indoors and warm up the chill of January. Here’s the scoop!!!
DUNCAN PHYFE Master Cabinetmaker in New York Renowned in his lifetime for his elegant design and superior craftsmanship, Duncan Phyfe remains America’s most famous cabinetmaker and the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a rich and storied tribute to his oeuvre. Born “Duncan Fife” in northern Scotland he immigrated to New York in the early 1780s where he apprenticed to the cabinetmaking trade. The earliest mention of his presence at 2 Broad Street (image above) occurs in 1792, when he was elected to the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen. In keeping up with societal preference in 1794 he changed the spelling of his name from “Fife” to Phyfe,” which suggested a more elegant, classical derivation. On view in the galleries are stunning examples of furniture, documented and firmly attributed and produced in the Phyfe workshop from Grecian style to English Regency designs and American Empire. Through May 6, 2012. http://www.metmuseum.org/.
THE WORLD OF DUNCAN PHYFE – The Arts of New York 1800-1847 at the Hirschl and Adler Galleries in New York City opens a multi-media exhibition developed as a complement to the metropolitan Museum of Art’s winter exhibit Phyfe as Master Cabinetmaker. The exhibit is comprised of work made by Phyfe and his contemporaries in New York City. This exhibit will succeed in expanding your understanding of Phyfe’s contribution to the world of 19th century fine furniture and decorative arts. Free and open to the public from Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 5 pm, and by appointment on Mondays. This show is a rare opportunity to purchase works of museum-quality to enhance one’s personal and work space with grace, beauty and distinction. Exhibition Though Feb. 17, 21 East 70 St. 212.535.8810.
THE METRO SHOW’s royal roster in the Collector’s Circle includes Mario Buatta, Ellie Cullman, Timothy Van Dam and Bunny Williams to name a few. The show introduces a strong list of prominent dealers at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street in Chelsea in a four-day showcase of art and antiques opening on January 19 to Sunday January 22. The Metro Show has expanded its range of offerings to include mid-20th-century design, ethnographic material, applied and decorative arts, photography, and modern paintings. The by invitation only preview is held on opening night January 18th from 6 to 7pm. The Public preview begins at 7pm with tickets are available at the door at $75. The show opens to the public Thursday, January 20 and general admission is $15 per person. For more info visit http://www.metroshowny.com/.
WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW Celebrates its 58th Year as America’s most prestigious antiques show with Six New Exhibitions and a Loan exhibition from the Historic Hudson Valley. This extraordinary venue provides museums, collectors, dealers, design professionals and first time buyers with opportunities to see and purchase exceptional pieces showcased by 73 exhibitors. This year, specialists in 18th and 19th century folk art paintings, 17th century through 19th Century American furniture, early American arms and armor, 20th century furniture and decorative objects, 20th century fine art photography, 20th Century American fine art, and tribal art join the Show in a wealth of venues to warm your collecting taste for all things beautiful and historic. The opening night party to benefit East Side House Settlement in the South Bronx is on Thursday, January 19th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. For Tickets call 718.292.7392. The show from January 20-29 is held at the Park Avenue Armory, 67th St. & Park Ave., New York City. Daily admission tickets $20 can be purchased on line at http://www.winterantiquesshow.com/.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m making a dual pilgrimage to Duncan Phyfe and revel in the great works of the master cabinetmaker. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com, just click in the right-hand column to any of the links that interest you.

CULTURAL EVENTS WITH A GALLIC FLAVOR(c) By Polly Guerin

2012-01-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

Matisse: Harmony in Red

The Francophile influence in cultural events from films to exhibitions there’s a plethora of venues permeates with a Gallic flavor to warm up one’s intellect right here in the Big Apple. Its’ the Best of New York my friends, the very Best of cultural events in the world. Here’s the scoop!!!
PRINTING FOR KINGDOM, EMPIRE and REPUBLIC, Treasures from the Archives of the Imprimerie Nationale at The Grolier Club presents more than 200 objects spanning the history of France’s official printing works, whose origins date back to 1538. Drawn from the ancient, vast, and comprehensive archives this rare and fascinating exhibition documents the significant influence of the press, not only on printing and book arts, but also on French. Punches, plates and other tools of the trade share the spotlight among them the royal folios from the reign of Louis XIV and artist’s books by Bonnard and Miro. Through Feb. 4th. FREE admission. Lunchtime Tours January 17, 18, 19 at 2 pm. 47 East 60th St. www.grolierclub.
REEL FASHION at the French Institute Alliance Francaise and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology hits the silver screen during the New York and Paris fashion weeks. A series of four behind-the-scenes documentaries about Fashion include Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, a witty portrait of Marc Jacobs balancing his roles as artistic director of his own American line and the French house. In The Day Before: Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld prepares for a show in Milan of Fendi Furs. For Proenza Schouler Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough prepare to debut their Fall 2009 line. A rich exploration of ELLE magazine is offered in Et ELLE Crea la femme (and Elle Created Woman). For more information and ticket prices for FIAF films visit www.fiag.org and The Museum at FIT, fitnyc.edu. Feb. 21 through 24.
CINEMA TUESDAYS at FIAF kicks off the 2012 Cinema Tuesdays series with Jacques Perrin: Renaissance Man, Jan 10th, with a selection of highlights from the veteran actor, producer and director’s career among them Jacques Demy’s delightful musical The Young Girls of Rochefort (1970) and the popular animal documentaries Microcosmos and Winged Migration. In February, the fashion focus includes Carte Blanche with Agnes b., an assortment of films hand-picked by the designer, whose wardrobe credits include Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. The lineup of Roger Vadim’s selections includes And God Created Woman, and Jean-Luc Godard’s Pierrot le Fou. Screenings are held at FIAF’s Tinker Auditorium. Members FREE, guests purchase tickets at www.fiaf.org.
THE STEINS COLLECT Paris was once the center of the cultural universe and to be invited to the Steins’ salon was a highly coveted affair. Pictured above Alice Tobias and Gertrude Stein in their salon in Paris. By buying works of art from artists at their crucial first years, the Steins’ befriended their creators and welcomed them into their homes along with the celebrated cognoscenti of the day. Gertrude Stein and other members of her family advanced modernism both in their adopted home of Paris and abroad. The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde exhibition unites some 200 masterworks once owned by these influential art patrons and provides a rare opportunity to view their collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Family photos, correspondence and other archival material enrich the experience. Through June 3rd. www.metmuseum.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to improve my French intellect taking in all these Francophile venues this week. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click on the links in the right-hand column.

THE NEW YEAR USHERS IN CULTURAL BONANZA (c) By Polly Guerin

2012-01-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

While Auld Lang Syne reverberates with sentimentality and resolutions, 2012 ushers in a year rich in cultural diversity with a plethora of venues to fuel our intellect. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very Best in New York City the cultural capital of the world. Here’s the scoop!!!
ROBERT BURNS and the CREATION OF “AULD LANG SYNE” a song that over time has become a globally shared expression of friendship and longing. The Scots world for “old,” “long,” and “since” combine a phrase that translates loosely as “time goes by,” “old time’s sake,” or, in some contexts, “once upon a time.” The old Scots phrase so gracefully evokes a sense of nostalgia that it has been embraced throughout the English-speaking world. While the song has become indelibly associated with New Year’s Eve, according to the Caledonian Club, it remains an anthem of friendship and remembrance. A centerpiece of the exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum are rare printed musical scores, printed books and manuscripts, including Burn’s letters. Though February 5. An audio guide allows visitors to listen along as they view the exhibition. www.morganmuseum.org.
DIEGO RIVERA: MURALS FOR THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART reunites, for the first time in 80 years, five “portable murals,” freestanding frescoes with bold images addressing the Mexican Revolution and Depression-era New York that Rivera created for the Museum for his 1932-1932 MOMA exhibition. Working around the clock with three assistants, Rivera produced five portable murals,” large blocks of frescoed plaster, concrete, and steel that feature bold images commemorating Mexican history. For the 1931“Agrarian leader Zapata” image here, Rivera depicted the Mexican revolutionary leader leading peasant farm workers. Additional works related to the 1931 commission are also on view through May 14. MOMA 11 w. 53 St. www.moma.org.
GOOD HUMOR at the MET—Infinite Jest: Caricature and Satire from Leonardo to Levine on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art explores humorous imagery from the Italian Renaissance to the present, including sheets by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Francisco de Goya, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec along with artists James Gillray and Honore Daumier, Al Hirschfeld and David Levine. The works on display show how artists employed exaggerated faces and physiques, showed people as animals and objects. In the purest form these caricature—from the Italian carico and caricare, “to load” and “exaggerate”—distorts human physical characteristics and combines with various kinds of satire to convey, personal, social, or political meaning. Through May 4. www.metmuseum.org.
TRANSITION TO CHRISTIANITY, Art of Late Antiquity, 3rd-7th Century A.D. at the Onassis Cultural Center presents more than 170 exceptional objects on loan from Greek museums, Cyprus and the United States. These outstanding works of art, including recently discovered works that are being exhibited for the first time, reveal a period of extraordinary creativity in the Greek World in an era known as Late Antiquity. The exhibit highlights the vibrant and complex life of the Eastern Mediterranean during a time of reinvention and renewal. These poignant fragments of a long-lost age speak to us directly of what it was like to live through an era of might transition. At Olympic Tower, 645 Fifth Ave. entrance on 51st or 52nd St. Adm. FREE Guided Tours every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00 p.m. www.onassisculturalcenter.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Auld Lang Syne is still ringing in my ears so I’m wishing you all a Very Happy New Year with Health, Happiness and Inspiration. Looking forward to hearing from you. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs, just click in the left hand column for direct links at www.pollytalk.com.

A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES, STORYTELLING IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-12-19T20:11:00.000-08:00

As great holiday music celebrates the Christmas season there’s but one very special sentimental journey back to simpler, innocent times of wonder and fantasy and that is the epic poem/story, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas, which was produced recently by the Chelsea Opera Company with the Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra under the baton of the brilliant Maestro Carmine Aufiero. Here’s the scoop!!!
DYLAN THOMAS Just a year before his death in 1953 noted poet Dylan Thomas recorded A Child’s Christmas in Wales, a classic that has become one of the all time holiday favorites and his most recognized story. New York City composer Matthew Harris’ choral cantata poignantly captures the Christmas spirit and the humor in Thomas’s ageless story. Its sentimentality tugs at our hearts with nostalgic yearnings to go back and remember what a childhood was like in that seaside village in Wales.
ONE CHRISTMAS WAS SO MUCH LIKE ANOTHER Many of us can relate to Thomas’s opening lines, “One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.”
FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!!! “Nobody could have had a noisier Christmas Eve” leads us through a merry chase as the excitement, clamor and gong ringing cause such a ruckus that the firemen arrive in their shining helmets, standing among smoke and cinders and dissolving snowballs. Adding to the absurdness of the situation, Miss Prothero says to the firemen, “Would you like anything to read?”
THE UNCLES reminds us so much about uncles at our house. Thomas recalls, “There were always Uncles at Christmas. The same Uncles. They sat in front of the fire, loosened all buttons, put their large moist hands over their watch chains, groaned a little and slept.” But there were aunties, too. “Auntie, Bessie, who had already been frightened twice, by a clockwork mouse, whimpered at the sideboard and had some elderberry wine. After some hilarious antics in the snow and a fantasy hippo enactment the children head home.
SINGING CAROLS Thomas waxes nostalgic, “I remember that we went singing carols once, when there wasn’t the shaving of a moon to light the flying streets, and always on Christmas night there was music. An uncle played the fiddle, a cousin sang Cherry Ripe, and another uncle sang Drake’s Drum. It was very warm in the little house. I got into bed, I said some words to the close and holy darkness, and then I slept.”
This endearing story referenced here is only an abbreviated sampling of the sentimentality that Thomas conveys through his recollections. It gives us pause to wonder and reflect on the similarities in our own Christmas celebrations replete with eccentric family members. However, most of all we may all feel better for having vicariously experienced this very quaint Christmas tale. It’s the kind of story that deserves reading to a new generation of children and grownups who will be carried away to a seaside village and A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
You can order the Dylan Thomas "A Child's Christmas in Wales" through Amazon. To read more about Chelsea Opera go to www.chelseaopera.org.

A FASHIONISTA'S FESTIVE HOLIDAY(c) By Polly Guerin

2011-12-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

While dashing around town Fastionistas take time to pay homage to the great designers, view a virtual tour and scan the windows for the sheer magic of the season. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very best in New York City, the fashion capital of the world. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE GREAT DESIGNERS, PART ONE The Museum at FIT presents the first of two consecutive exhibitions featuring masterpieces from the museum’s permanent collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories. From Alaia, Balenciaga, Chanel, and Dior to Westwood, Yeohlee, Zoran and Xuly-Bet the exhibition recently opened, pictured here, features approximately 50 garment from many of the most important designers of the 20th and 21st centuries. New acquisitions include the late Alexander McQueen’s elaborately embroidered black silk coatdress and Tierry Mugler’s fantastical metallic bustier and fishtail skirt and enjoy a closer look at Mariano Fortuny’s exquisite, embossed velvet dress. Through May 8, 2012. FREE at MFIT, Seventh Ave. at 27th St. www.fitnyc.edu/museum. Mark your calendars The Great Designers, Part Two will be on display May 23 through Nov. 10, 2012.
VALENTINO’S MODERN FASHION MUSEUM celebrates with a virtual museum, the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum, a downloadable desktop application the first of its kind from a designer of Valentino’s caliber. The site focuses on 50 years of Valentino’s work in three-dimensional technology that makes the experience seem almost like a real museum visit replete with natural Roman sunlight, video interviews with some 300 dresses and iconic images of everyone from Jacqueline Kennedy wearing Valentino when she married Aristotle Onassis to Julia Roberts accepting her Oscar wearing a vintage gown by the Rome designer. In this pi0neering move Valentino wanted everyone around the world, and in particular students, to have access to his best designs, even if he himself isn’t a tech-savvy designer. Discussions are still underway to establish a brick-and-mortar Valentino museum in Rome.
JOAQUIN SOROLLA and THE GLORY OF SPANISH DRESS The Queen Sofia Spanish Institute on Park Avenue with curator Oscar de la Renta who got the idea for the show from “Vision of Spain,” the Sorolla mural commissioned in 1911. Sorolla had spent years traveling through Spain to chronicle the native dress, some of which he purchased, amassing a sizable collection and many of the pieces shown come from his archives. Oscar shows some Sorolla works alongside the clothes that inspired them and in turn modern fashion. Among other designers represented: YSL’s Stefano Pilati, Ralph Lauren and Carolina Herrera and a remarkable 2009 couture wecding extravaganza from Christian Lacroix with flamenco references.
THE QUEEN OF JEWELS Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry goes on the block at Christie’s tomorrow with the storied La Peregrina pearl necklace, which is estimated to fetch $2 million to $3 million at auction decidedly the showstopper. When Richard Burton bought it at auction in New York for Elizabeth Taylor he paid $37,000. To put it mildly it will be interesting to see who the next owner of the most fabled of natural pearls turns out to be. On view today. Christie’s on 49th Street. www.christie.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Polly’s going to see The Great Designers, Part One, you should too. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click in the right-hand column the link to her Blogs.

A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES and HOLIDAY MUSIC By Polly Guerin

2011-12-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

Holidays in New York ushers in glorious concerts all around tinsel town. From A Child’s Christmas in Wales to Chanticleer and a French Christmas choristers rise up singing the joys of the season. It’s the Best of New York, my friends, the very best of music festivities to cheer your heart. Here’s the scoop!!!
A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES Matthew Harris’s cantata for chorus and orchestra, presented by the Chelsea Opera, brings to musical life Dylan Thomas’s classic and entrancing Christmas story that tugs at the heart of all of us who are reminded of our own treasured memories. With "A Child's Christmas in Wales" we are all brought together in the beauty of word and song in music that brims with humor, poignancy and high drama as we follow the recollections of Christmas past in a seaside town in Wales: the useful and useless presents, drunk uncles, firemen, hippos, carol singing to ghosts, and “looking through my bedroom window, out into the moonlight and the unending smoke-colored snow.” A special performance of “Walking in the Air” form the Snowman with Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg rounds out a glorious evening. ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY, December 16, at 8 pm. At Christ & St. Stephen’s Church, 120 W. 69th St. (B’way & Columbus). Gen Adm 20 adv/$25 door; Snr/Stdt $15 adv/$20 door. www.ChelseaOpera.org.
A CHANTICLEER CHRISTMAS A sumptuous blend of voices rings in the holiday season with profound, peaceful and joyous music in concerts in front of the Metropolitan Museum’s Christmas tree and Neapolitan Baroque Creche. Dec. 11, The Vienna Boys Choir performs Austrian folk songs and waltzes, classical masterpieces, popular songs and, of course, holiday favorites, an all-female cappella ensemble celebrates with a special performance of ancient, traditional and modern works on themes of love and music, Dec. 20th a touch of tradition, a dash of jazz brings a measure of cheer with the Burning River Nutcracker, Dec. 23 Judy Collins, one of folk music’s most celebrated icons takes the stage with seasonal favorites and classic hits. For full schedule go to www.metmuseum.org.
A FRENCH CHRISTMAS The Canterbury Choral Society, under the baton of the legendary founder and Conductor, Charles Dodsley Walker celebrates the season with Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s “Messe de Minuit pour Noel,” and Francis Poulenc’s “Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Noel. Soloists include Kathleen Kelly, soprano; Joan Fuerstman, mezzo-soprano; Sherry Zannoth, soprano; Tomas Mooney, tenor; Philip Smith, tenor and Ralph Braun, bass-baritone. The enchanting Treble Choir is from St. Hilda and St. Hugh's School from St. Michael’s Church. December 18th at 4 pm, Church of the heavenly Rest, Fifth Avenue at 90th Street.
JOYEUX NOEL! Celebrate Christmas with a French twist. The St. Ignatius choirs are featured in this vibrant holiday presentation of French masterpieces for the season, including Saint-Saens’s Christmas Oratorio, excerpts from Poulenc’s Quatre motets pour le temps de Noel and favorites by Biebl, Adam, Bach/Gounod, Busser, and carols for all to sing. Sunday, December 11th and December 18th at 4 pm. At the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park. Ave. http://www.smssconcerts.org/.
Ta Ta darlings!! I’ll be singing in Chelsea Opera's "A Child’s Christmas in Wales." Looking forward to seeing you at St. Stephen's Church, Dec. 16th. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizonl.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the links.

STORYTELLING CREATES HOLIDAY MAGIC (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-11-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

There’s nothing like a book to enchant the literary lions and this holiday does not disappoint. From ancient storytelling to children’s classics and a bit of a western fantasy it’s the Best of New York my friends, the very Best reading for holiday reading and gift giving. Here’s the scoop!!! STORYTELLING IN JAPANESE ART represents a long tradition of storytelling through paintings and illustrated books that trace the rich history of illustrated narratives that thrived in the medieval and early modern periods of Japan. The focus of this enchanting exhibit focuses on some 20 rare illustrated hand scrolls called emaki including the antics of animals in the roles of humans, the macabre escapes of ghosts and monsters and mischievous kitchen utensils that come out at night. Frolicking Animals, The Tale of the Drunken Dragon and Illustrated Legend of Kitano Shrine are among the magnificently illustrated scrolls that will delight adult and child. At The Sackler Wing Galleries for the Arts of Japan, 2nd floor. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. Through May, 2012. www.metmuseum.org.
50 YEARS OF ‘THE SNOWY DAY’ The golden anniversary of this classic children’s book by Ezra Jack Keats is a charming children’s story that even the most sophisticate of us would enjoy reading and giving as a gift. It coincides with an exhibition in his honor at the Jewish Museum. Keats’ life story is a metaphor of persistence and dedication. The book tells the story of a little Black boy named Peter exploring the new white world in his little red snowsuit whose senses come alive when he ventures alone into the snow. The book was controversial because it features a Black child and was released at the height of the civil rights movement in 1962. In writing ‘The Snowy Day” Keats transformed children’s literature forever. Book available at the Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. Viking Children’s Books has published an oversize 50th anniversary edition of “The Snowy Day,” priced at $19.99. Visit www.ezra-jack-keats.org.
CRACKING ‘THE WHIP’ A quick-paced, wily tale is a fascinating blend of both fact and fiction by author, Karen Kondazian, who reveals the thirty years disguise of a noted stagecoach driver discovered to be a woman. The Whip is inspired by the true story of a woman, Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst (1812-1879) who lived most of her extraordinary life as a man on the Wells Fargo Line. Tragedy drove her west to California, dressed as a man, to track the murderer of her husband and child but instead Charley became a renowned stagecoach driver. She killed a famous outlaw, had a secret love affair, and was the first woman to vote in America (as a man). Tuck that in your bonnet!!! Riveting…it’s sure to engage Western and historical fiction fans. http://www.karen-kondazian.com. Publisher www.HansenPublishing.com .
STILL IN THE GAME, The Game of Kings: Medieval Ivory Chessmen from the Isle of Lewis. The Lewis Chessmen found in a sandbank in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s chilly Outer Hebrides come out for viewing at the Cloister branch of the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art where 34 of the 67 chessmen are on display. Made of walrus tusk or whale’s teeth, the chessmen are remarkable pieces, creamy white through traces of red remain in some places. Neil MacGregor the British Museum’s director selected them for his book which is available in the Cloister’s bookstore as well at the Metropolitan Museum’s book shops ($12.00 paperback).
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to see “The Snow Day” again. It’s pure magic. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Or visit Polly’s Blogs go to http://www.pollytalk.com/ and click in the right hand column direct link to several Blogs.

HOLIDAY MAGIC, A PRICELESS NEW YORK (c) By Polly guerin

2011-11-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

A delightful array of holiday treats from window shopping to musical events and virtual fashion dominate priceless holiday moments worth savoring. It’s the Best of New York, my friends. The very Best that celebrates the spirit of the season. Here’s the Scoop!!!
GAGALAND AT BARNEYS NEW YORK Yes, It’s ‘Beginning to Look like Gaga.” Gaga’s Workshop opens tonight at 11:59 p.m., offering more than 100 Gaga-inspired products throughout the store’s various installations. Shoppers entering Barneys on the 60th Street entrance will be greeted by a show-stopping entry, pictured left, by installation artist Eli Sudbrack: a giant neon Gaga monster framing the doors. The ’12 days of Gaga,’ will debut a product a day with the extravaganza closing on Jan 2. The fifth floor is transformed into eight stations that include the chocolate skull from Gaga’s candy shop, the boudoir a giant wig hosts all the makeup, fake nails and lipsticks; the spider installation where the jewelry is displayed a giant pop-up book. Gaga, the performance artist, does not disappoint with many other incredible venues, a ‘must-see’ event.
THE ARTIST, Polly’s Movie Pick of the Week opens this Friday. This light, comical and touching black-and-white silent French film set in Hollywood in 1927 will charm its way into your heart as it did mine when I saw a preview last week at the French institute Alliance Francaise. The hero, the happy-to-lucky movie star George Valentin, played by the dashing French actor Jean Dujardin, resists speaking at the dawn of talkies and therein is the plot of an almost speechless production. The film explores the relationship between the dashing Valentin, whose career is fading and a very sparkling young actress, a la flapper, Berenice Bejo whose star is on the rise. This homage to 1920s era Hollywood is a dazzling cinematic experience and there is an amazing little dog, a terrier with an important role named Uggie, that is quite frankly show stealer.
CHRISTMAS IN ITALY Award-winning international sing star CHRISTINA FONTANELLI takes you on a vocal journey through Italy’s most loved songs and arias, Neapolitan and Christmas classics with piano, mandolin, guitar and accordion accompaniment, plus a delightful addition the student choir. At the Danny Kaye Playhouse, 695 Park Ave. (Between Park and Lexington Avenues), Sunday, November 27 at 3 p.m. Senior/Student tickets $42, Regular $48, Premium $70. Box Office: 212.772.4448. www.ChristinaFontanelli.com.
GIRARD-PERREGAUX EXHIBIT Created in honor of the firm’s 220th anniversary, the Girard-Perregaux traveling exhibition makes its final stop at the brand’s Madison Avenue boutique through Saturday, November 26th. The exhibit showcases the most important stages of Gerard-Perregaux’s history with emphasis on the technical and design aspects of watches and trends like Art Nouveau and Art Deco. This marks the first time that many of the company’s masterpieces, dating back to the late 18th and 19th centuries (it was founded in 1791) will ever be seen by the U.S. public. A rare opportunity, not to be missed!!!
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’ll see you at Gagaland tonight! Won’t miss it if I were you! Fan mail welcome pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs, just click in the right-hand column on www.pollytalk.com. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving with “Thanksgiving Reverence” poem, just click here http://www.poetryfromtheheartbypollyguerin.blogspot.com.

MUSIC OF DVORAK AT ST.GEORGE'S CHORAL SOCIETY(c) By Polly guerin

2011-11-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

The Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak was perhaps the most successful nationalist of the 19th century and composed a series of works, Bohemian in style with explicit influence of folk music. Dvorak also spent some time in America, where his ideas on national music had a profound impact on his oeuvre. In a fitting tribute the St. George’s Choral Society pays homage to Dvorak’s great works this Sunday, November 20th at 3 p.m. at the landmark Church of the Incarnation. Under the baton of Dr. Matthew Lewis, Artistic Director, the choral society will sing Stabat Mater, Te Deum and Songs of Nature with full orchestra. Tami Petty, soprano and Stephen Bryant, Bass-Baritone are the featured soloists. It’s the best of New York, my friends, the very best concert to start this musical holiday season. Here’s the scoop!!!

Church of the Incarnation, 209 Madison Ave. @ 35th Street. Tickets $25 at the door. Tickets purchased in advance are $20 at http://www.stgeorgeschoralsociety.org/.

STABAT MATER is based on a Medieval Latin poem depicting Mary’s grief at Christ’s crucifixion. The mammoth work was begun in 1876 after the death of Dvorak’s daughter Josefa. With such grief at hand he then laid the work aside, but was moved to complete it several years later after the death of two more daughters. However, despite these loses Dvorak, a deeply religious man and ruralist at heart, was never happier than in the countryside of his native Bohemia. Dvorak’s rustic reserve no doubt influenced his “Songs of Nature,” that extol the beauty of nature replete with flies, moths and beetles and will be performed by the St. George’s chamber choir.
DVORAK AMERICAN SOJOURN Jeannette Meyer Thurber, one of America’s most influential music patrons shares a unique place in the history of American music. In 1885, she was founder of one of the most influential music schools in the United States, the National Conservatory of Music of America. Under her leadership she brought the great Bohemian composer Antonin Dvorak to New York and in 1891 he was invited to become the director of bespoke music organization, a role that he undertook with great gusto. During Dvorak’s sojourn in New York he composed a series of works that clearly have undercurrent that reflect his passion for American folk music.
DVORAK AND HARRY THACKER BURLEIGH The great Czech composer Dvorak lived in a modest house near Gramercy Park and had close ties with the parish of St. George’s Episcopal Church, where he was music director. The connection between AntoninDvorak and Harry ThackerBurleigh was an epic collaboration. Burleigh auditioned and won a scholarship from the National Conservatory of Music and took a job at St. George’s where Dvorak became Burleigh’s biggest influence as a composer. In 1894, Burleigh, auditioned for the post of soloist at St. George’s and through his talent and dedication he held the position for over fifty years. In his lifetime Burleigh became nationally and internationally known as an eminent American baritone, composer and arranger and for his Negro spirituals, many of them still popular today. His grandfather, Hamilton Waters, a former slave, had passed along old songs by singing them to his grandson Harry, including “Deep River” and “Sometimes I feel like a Motherless Child.” During Dvorak’s stay in New York the two artists collaborated on musical compositions. Burleigh’s unforgettable arrangement of “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” clearly resonates inspiration in Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9, Op. 95, From the New World.”

St. George’s Choral Society is one of—of not the—oldest choral societies in Manhattan. It was founded in 1817 and continues to present concerts twice a year. Rehearsals take place on Wednesday evening in St. George’s Neo-Romanesque Chapel on Rutherford Place facing Stuyvesant Square Park.

Ta darlings!!! I’m not only singing in the chorus this Sunday, but I am sharing this Polly Talk column with you so that you will have greater reason to attend the performance. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly at www.pollytalk.com and click on one of her Blogs.

STUPENDOUS ART WORKS PRIME NEW YORK SHOWS(c) By Polly Guerin

2011-11-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

Extraordinary, wunderbar, stupendous works of art draw enthusiasts to the wonder of creativity that blankets the city with rare exhibitions. Only in New York my friends, its the very best of culture that proves that New York is the Center of the Art World. Here’s the scoop!!!
MAURIZIO CATTELAN ITALIAN ART PRANKSTER in an amazing ‘not to be missed,’ site-specific installation at the Guggenheim, Maurizio Cattelan suspends his entire body of work on a disorientating, seemingly haphazard mass in the center of the building’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda. The unorthodox presentation, which is visible from the ground floor and from each ascending ramp, brings together every work the artist has created since 1989 in a wild array of some 120 sculptures, paintings, photographs, works on paper, taxidermied horses, dogs and shrouded Carrara marble forms in a sculptural environment that functions as a unified artwork in its own right. I preferred to take the elevator to the top floor and to descend the ramps which devoid of any mounted art work provide a stark canvas for this extraordinary show, which in itself is an engineering feat. Multiple tiers in a huge mobile though suspended in motionless animation seem to have some mysterious movement like a wild, wonderful merry-go-round. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St. through Jan. 22, 2011. For behind the scenes footage of the installation a multimedia app is available for download at guggenheim.org/cattelan-app.
MECHANICAL WONDERS: ANTIQUE AUTOMATONS and CONTEMPORARY WATCHMAKING, The Sandoz Collection, is another extraordinary show, a Russian tour de force at La Vieille Russie, the venerable store-like museum located on the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Ave. Faberge’s Golden Peacock Egg along with many other treasures from the Maurice Sandoz’s collection are being seen for the first time by New York’s admiring public. Parmigiani Fleurier restored the collection which in addition to Fabrege’s Miniature Piano, the Youssoupoff clock and the Imperial Swan Egg includes timepieces, gold, pearl and enamel perfume spray gun and snuff boxes. Don’t miss the automation animals which include the gold, diamond, pearl enamel and turquoise frog, snake, mouse and a caterpillar. Other marvels include varicolored gold snuff box which opens to reveal a magician answering questions such as “What gives an illusion of happiness?” (money) and a bronze, enamel and glass cage with singing birds are on loan from a Swiss watch museum.
ERTE, THE FATHER OF ART DECO is synonymous with gorgeous illustrations and Harper’s Bazaar covers featuring his fantastical, chic but imaginary women. Born Romain de Tirtoff, Erte began his career working for the flamboyant French fashion designer Paul Poiret, who freed women from the restraints of corsets with his famous harem pant silhouette and waistless dresses. ERTE who continues to captivate and to weave a spell of magic in his illustrations gets his due at New York’s Martin Lawrence Galleries located at 457 West Broadway in a new retrospective that is a feast to the eyes. Opens Thursday, November 10 and lasts for a mere four days then travels on to other cities. 212.995.8865.
BOULUD SOU, NEXT DOOR BAR BOULUD AND EPICERIE BOULUD are Polly’s Restaurant pick of the week. Bouloud Sud, 20 W. 64 Street 212.595.1313 in a pristine sunlit setting serves Mediterranee style, while Bar Boulud, 212.595.0303, around the corner at 1900 Broadway satisfies the Lincoln Center rush crowd and adjacent Epicerie Boulud, 212.595.9605 offers quick lunch and take away delicacies including those famous macaroons.
Ta Ta darlings, I’ve already been to Erte and La Vieille Russie so I’m off to the Milk Gallery for the two-day, Nov. 10 to 12 exhibition of never before seen photos of Marilyn Monroe. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com.

TRANSFORMATIONS AND MODERNISM IN THE BIG APPLE(c) By Polly Guerin

2011-10-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Youth & Beauty, Old Art in New Places and Modernization capture the spirit of culture and intellect in the Big Apple this week. It’s the Best in New York, my friends, the very best in new galleries and musems. Here’s the scoop!!!
YOUTH and BEAUTY: ART OF THE AMERICAN TWENTIES at the Brooklyn Museum presents the first wide-ranging exploration of American Art from the decade called Art Deco marked by the aftermath of World War I through the onset of the Great Depression followed by World War II. American life was dramatically transformed in those years and American artists like Edward Hopper, Charles Demuth, Romaine Brooks and Paul Camus responded to this dizzying modern world with works that embraced a new brand of idealism. Image left: The Birth of Venus (1925) by Joseph Stella, American, born Italy. Influenced by industrialization, mechanization and materialism they produced figurative art that melded uninhibited body-consciousness with classical ideals. http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/. At 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York. Through January 29, 2012.
LUMINOUS MODERNISM: Scandinavian Art Comes to America, 1912/2012 features 47 works by some of the foremost Nordic artists working at the turn of the 20th century with special film screenings. World renowned director Ingmar Bergman fell in love with Faro, the landscape which became the hallmark of many of his films. Two documentaries portray a complex, understated and loving portrait of his tiny island on Wed., Nov. 2 at 6pm and Fri., Nov. 4, 6:30pm. $10 ($7 ASF Members). On Wed., Nov. 9, 6pm view a biographical drama about the famous painter, Edvard Munch, from his childhood to his adult life, with in-depth studies of the influence of persons and surroundings that made his paintings. $10. At Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave. @ 38th St. www.amscan.org.
MODERNIZING THE NATIONAL ACADEMY MUSEUM AND SCHOOL emerges with less stuffy museum spaces, airier with new track lighting and more picture-friendly. Several temporary exhibition through December 31 include salon-style portraits from the early 19th century in “The Artist Revealed: A Panorama of Great Artist Portraits”; 100 American paintings from the permanent collection and the later-career retrospective “Will Barnet at 100. At the entrance way the gift shop has been removed allowing visitors to sweep right into the galleries. At 91st Street & Fifth Avenue. www.nammuseum.org.
NEW GALLERIES FOR THE ART OF THE ARAB LANDS, TURKEY, IRAN, CENTRAL ASIA AND LATER SOUTH ASIA reveal a renovated and expanded suite of 15 galleries to house the permanent collection of the Department of Islamic Art which had been removed during a eight-year construction project. The galleries showcase some 1,200 works spanning more than a thousand years including breathtaking carpets, illustrated manuscripts (bring a magnifying glass), textiles, jewels and the sumptuously ornamented Damascus Room, built in A.H.1119/1707A.D. , one of the finest examples of Syrian Ottoman reception rooms from the house of an important and affluent family. Opens Nov. 1st. www.metmuseum.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Youth and Beauty, Art of the American Twenties was breathtakingly enchanting. Don’t miss it! Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click in the right-hand column to access the Blog of your interest including http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com.

NEW YORK FOCUS IN THE EYE OF THE CAMERA(c) By Polly Guerin

2011-10-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

New Yorkers’ are forever in the eye of the camera! Captured in silver prints for nostalgic viewing New York’s Fashionistas appear in photographed treasures never to be forgotten, while 100 dresses get their due recognition and it's pumpkin time. Here’s the scoop!!!
INCOMPARABLE WOMEN OF STYLE: Selections from the Rose Hartman Photography Archives, 1977-2011 record the iconic moments of fashion, style, and culture for more than 30 years, capturing New York nightlife, fashion shows, parties, clubs and openings. From Studio 54 to the Mudd Club to Chelsea art galleries, Hartman’s photographs yield a treasure trove of material that portrays incomparable women of high fashion, street style, and New York City society through the eye of a social documentarian. Image: Grace Jones at her CD release party at Le Bar Bat, 1993. Rare vintage silver prints include a group of never-before-seen images of NYC’s underground style icons who drove high fashion from the city’s club scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s into the mainstream. On view at FIT’s Gladys Marcus Library, Nov. 4-Jan.20, 2012. FREE Enter at 27th St. and Seventh Av. Show valid picture ID and receive a same-day pass to the Library on the 5th floor.
TREASURE OF PHOTOGRAPHY FROM ALFRED STIEGLITZ’S PERSONAL COLLECTION at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Stieglitz was not only a master photographer, but a powerful taste master and tireless advocate for photography as a fine art. Among the most notable portraits are Alvin Landon Coburn’s image of the Nobel laureate author George Bernard Shaw lost in thought, the glamorous portrait of the fashionable socialite Rita de Acosta Lydig and of course Stieglitz’s wife Georgia O’Keeffe. The photo exhibit complements the Museum’s show Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O’Keeffe. Through February 26, 2012.
HAL RUBENSTEIN’S “100 UNFORGETTABLE DRESSES,” This HarperCollins imprint, is a joy read into iconic dresses that graced the forms of Rita Hayworth in “Gilda,” Julia Roberts in that infamous red dress in Pretty Woman, Joan Crawford in Adrian, Audrey Hepburn’s Sabrina, and political women and wedding dresses--all with a telltale story behind the wearer and the creation. The list goes on and Rubenstein, the former fashion director of Bloomingdales, includes Bob Mackie’s greatest parody dress of all time, the Starlett O’Hara curtain-rod gown for Carol Burnett. Who can forget Elizabeth Taylor’s strapless fluff of a dress which became every girl’s prom dress for the next 20 years or Ginger Rogers dancing “Cheek to Cheek” with Fred Astaire shedding feathers all the way. Picture perfect it’s a tour down fashion’s memory lane. On Amazon and major bookstores.
THE HAUNTED PUMPKIN GARDEN at The New York Botanical Garden fun for grownups trill the kid in you with spooky fun featuring pumpkin sculptures of spooky scarecrows, frightening spiders, sneaky snakes in the Adventure Garden with bubbling artisan beers and insect delicacies. The Ukaladies will be on hand performing cowboy love songs, Ruth Wallis medleys, favorites from the ‘30s and ‘40s, and a host of original hits. Friday, October 28, 7-9 p.m. At. 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx. www.nybg.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Celebrating Halloween I’m off to the Haunted Pumpkin Garden and spending the week devouring the 100 Unforgettable Dresses book. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click in the right-hand column for the Blog of your interest, such as, http://www.amazingartdecowomen.blogspot.com.

FASHIONISTA'S REVEL IN MUSEUM OPENINGS (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-10-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

What has fashion got to do with New York? Well for one thing it fuels employment, it pumps up the economy with amazing creativity and it earns New York City the title “The Fashion Capital of the World.” It’s the Best of New York, my friends, the very best inviting the fashion cognoscenti and the tourists more reasons to visit its museums. Here’s the scoop!!!
YOUTH AND BEAUTY: ART of the AMERICAN TWENTIES: Put on your cloche hat and shimmy dress and head for the Brooklyn Museum where the first wide-ranging exploration of American Art from the decade between the end of World War I and the onset of the Great Depression showcases a major exhibition of 138 paintings, sculptures, and photographs by 67 of the greatest artists of their time. Among the imagea Gloria Swanson, circa 1925, by American photographer, Nickolas Muray. Exhibit on view from October 28 through January 29, 2012, then it moves onto Dallas and Cleveland. At 200 Eastern Parkway www.brooklynmuseum.org.
TWO -DAY SYMPOSIUM ON FASHION ICONS AND INSIDERS: Fantastic, real, past and present from vampire dandies to Marie Antoinette to Daphne Guinness get in with the fashion intelligentsia where fashion icons, designers, authors, curators, and scholars cover such topics as: Daphne Guinness, one of today’s most original fashion icons, in conversation with Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, Museum at FIT. Dr. Caroline Weber talks about What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution, Thelma Golden, director, Studio Museum in Harlem on Black Fashion Icons and Dr. Peter McNeil, professor Design History, University of Technology, Sydney on Gay Fashion Icons. Thursday Nov. 3 and Friday Nov.4, 9:30 am-5:00 pm. At the Fashion Institute of Technology, 27th St. between 7th and 8th Ave. Haft Auditorium. Cost $100 both days. Registration is required. The Museum at FIT 227 W. 27th St., Room E301, NY, NY 10001-5992.
LE PARFUM: THE POWER OF FRAGRANCE Meet some of today’s leading perfumers, smell a selection of the world’s iconic fragrances, and hear the stories behind their creation. Could your fragrance be next? The Scent of History, Nov. 3 at 7pm features osmocurator Christophe Laudamiel who takes you on an olfactory journey with samples provided by the Osmotheque in Versailles. Members $35, non Members $45. The Power of Fragrance on Nov. 10 covers the influence of fragrance on identity, memory, and desire. $20 and $25. Speed Smelling on Nov 16th presents the world’s renowned perfumers and meet the noses behind Ralph Lauren’s Paulo and Estee Lauder’s Pure White Linen. $35 and $45. Alliance Francaise, Le Skyroom, 22 East 60th St. 8th Floor. http://www.fiaf.org/. Buy tickets at 800 982 2787.
TEXTILE THERAPY AND HAPPY COLORS: The Marimenkko flagship store in the Toy Building, 200 Fifth Avenue at 23rd St. is an explosion of brightly colored, signature upbeat prints for which the 60-year-old Finnish company is so famous. Armi Ratia and her husband, Viljo have partnered with textiles to teapots. Fans of Marimenkko’s signature poppy print, Unikko or Astrid Sylwan’s Vattenblank will delight in the fact that there’s even an on-site seamstress to whip up prints to your specifications say pillow covers, perhaps an apron, maybe a dress. Us.marimenkko.com.
ELSA AND MIUCCIA MEET AT THE MET: Remember you heard about this even first from PollyTalk. Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada will be the focus of the Spring 2012 Costume Institute Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and focus on how they broke with fashion convention and subverted notions of taste and glamour in the art world. Mark your calendar: Exhibition dates May 10-August 19, 2012.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to get some textile therapy and color my life with the colors of Marimenkko. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click in the right hand column for direct access to Blogs like www.amazingartdecowomen.blogspot.com.

DESIGN AND ANCIENT TREASURES DOMINATE BIG APPLE VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-10-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Grand openings, Islamic Art, Master Painters of India, a rich cultural heritage offers a wide range of ancient treasures in museum collections and design options. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very best inviting the masses and intelligentsia to enlarge their experience. Here’s the scoop!!!
Pictured: Praca Cantao Favela Painting Project
DESIGN WITH THE OTHER 90% CITIES Examines the complex issues arising from unprecedented urban growth, primarily in the informal settlements and slums of the Global South. The exhibition explores the design solutions to the challenges created by rapid urban growth in informal settlements, commonly referred to as slums. Case in point, I recently returned from Rio de Janiero and had my first experience with the Favelas like the Praca Cantao Favela Painting project in Santa Marta, Rio, where artists engaged community members to paint the building exteriors in their neighborhood, calling international media attention to their need for improvement. On view off-site during Cooper-Hewitt’s renovation at the United Nations Visitors Center, main gallery, First Ave. at 46th St. October 15-January 9, 2012.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM of ART’S GRAND OPENING of a suite of 15 New Galleries for the Art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia opens on November 1, a not to be missed opportunity to view ancient treasures in greatly enlarged and completely renovated galleries. house “The opening of these extraordinary new galleries underscores our mission as an encyclopedic museum and proves a unique opportunity to convey the grandeur and complexity of Islamic art and culture at a pivotal moment in world history,” stated Thomas P. Campbell, director. Highlights include the sumptuous ornamented Damascus Room, built in 1707, one of the finest examples of Syrian homes of the wealthy during the Ottoman period and rich holdings of the Islamic and Asian departments. www.metmuseum.org At 1000 Fifth Avenue.
TREASURES OF ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPT PAINTING For the first time the Morgan Library & Museum has gathered its spectacular collection of Islamic manuscripts together in a single exhibition with important religious and secular works, including a rare, illustrated translation of the life of Rumi, Our’ans and Qur’anic leaves, a thirteenth-century treatise on animals and their uses, individual miniatures, and an illustrated text on astrology, wonders of the world, demonology, and divination. Not to be missed. Bring a magnifying glass to view the colorful and intricate miniature works of art. Opens Oct. 21-January 29, 2012. www.themorgan.org.
MASTER PAINTERS OF INDIA, 1100-1900 Gives credit where credit is due and pushes the trend for explicitly proclaiming that individuals with distinctive artistic voices shaped Indian painting. The show is divided into six chronological sections from Early Hundu-Sultantate paintings to the Golden Age of Mughal painting with exquisite variety of works with jewel-like decorations and rich colors. These miniature paintings deserve magnifying glass inspection which are provided by the musem. Metropolitan Museum of Art through January 8, 2012. www.metmuseum.org.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! It’s plain to see that ancient treasures deserve my scrutiny and with magnifying glass I venture forth to view these miniature works of art. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click in the right-hand column for the Blog of your interest like amazingartdecodivas, thefashionhistorian or poetryfromtheheart.

ARTISTIC VARIETY and CULTURAL VENUES (c) by Polly Guerin

2011-10-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

The brilliant colors of fall are starting to bloom, Matisse , O’Keeffe and De Kooning come to town, while Mummy Tours and Nature Narrative offer reasons to explore the rich cultural heritage of New York City. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very best diversions to date. Here’s the scoop!!!
WILLEM DE KOONING, an American icon and master painter, widely considered to be among the most important and prolific artists of the 20th century gets the royal treatment at MOMA where nearly 200 works in all mediums span the artist’s development over nearly seven decades. Occupying the entire sixth-floor gallery space on view are some of the artist’s most famous, landmark paintings including Pink Angels, his erotic signature “Women” paintings, his breakthrough black-and-white compositions and urban abstractions. Don’t miss de Kooning’s famous yet rarely seen theatrical backdrop, the 17-foot-square Labyrinth. Location: 11W. 53 St. Through January 9, 2012. www.moma.org.
STIEGLITZ and HIS ARTISTS move in at the Metropolitan Museum of Art October 13, 2011 with the first large-scale exhibition of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints from Stieglitz’s private collection, including many works on paper that are rarely on view. Some 200 works by major European modernists include Picasso’s Woman Ironing, Brancusi’s Sleeping Muse, Kandinsky’s Improvisation 27 and Brancusi’s Sleeping Muse and Charles Demuth's "I saw the Figure 5 in Gold," pictured here. Works by American painters whose careers Stieglitz shepherded from the 1920s to 1946, Arthur Dove, John Marin and Georgia O’Keeffe who he felt epitomized the authentic American experience also featured. Through January 2, 2012. www.metmuseum.org.
FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE: Nature and Narrative, the Norway film series presents a historical perspective on the relevance of natural phenomena and landscape in Norway’s cinema. Expressing visual splendor Norway’s beautiful, other-worldly landscape, harsh climate and radiant skies focus in two films this week: The Bride of Glomdal on Oct. 5 and 7 and Tramp/Fant Oct. 12 and Oct. 14. At Scandinavia House, 59 Park Ave. www.scan.org.
LA PISCINE, Polly’s Pool Bar and Restaurant Pick of the Week, on top of the new Hotel Americano, 518 West 27th St., looks north and east over the glamorously gritty cityscape of industrial Chelsea and west towards the Hudson. In winter a big glass garage door will seal off the glass-roofed dining area, where fondue and hot sake will be served. For those hearty enough to plunge, the winterized pool will morph into a hot tub, with robes and slippers for indulger's. www.hotelamericano.org.
THE SECRET LIVES OF MUMMIES in celebration of Halloween, the Brooklyn Museum presents mummy-themed tours for the child of wonder in all of us who want to discover the secret behind “Why did the Ancient Egyptians mummify the deceased?” Guide Roy Capps explores the mysterious and practical objects associated with mummies, mummification, and their journey through ideas and history. Exploring the Book of the Dead” continues on Oct. 27 and Oct. 30th. 200 Eastern Parkway. www.brooklynmuseu.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to take the plunge at La Piscine in more ways than dining. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs can be accessed at www.pollytalk.com, just click in the right-hand column for a direct link like to my latest http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

Museum Exhibitions Lure Tourists, New Yorkers (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-09-26T14:15:00.001-07:00

Caricature of William Makepeace Thackeray and Chares Dickens

Culture New York lures the tourists and the local cognoscenti to museum exhibitions that cultivate the mind and transport us to ancient worlds from the Louvre to the master writer Charles Dickens, and gallery vernissages. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very best to tempt your intellect. Here’s the scoop!!!
REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE, Drawings from the Musee du Louvre. Rarely does the Louvre allow such a major group of drawings to travel, but without traveling to Paris, Drawings from the Louvre offers a singular opportunity to experience the mastery of the era. From the time of the French Revolution of 1789 through the reign of King Louis-Philippe and the establishment of the second Empire in 1852, artistic talent brought its collective skill to bear on one of the most turbulent times in French History. Included in the 80 drawings of such noted artists as Jacques-Louis David, Eugene Delacroix, Pierre-Narcisse Guerin and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon are some of the greatest examples of works on paper of the period. At the Morgan Library & Museum 225 Madison Ave. Through Dec. 31, 2011. www.themorgan.org.
CHARLES DICKENS at 200 It is time to revisit Britain’s first true literary superstar and A Christmas Carol among many of his other great works. Celebrating the bicentennial of the great writer’s birth in 1812 with his manuscripts of his novels and stories, letters, books, photographs, original illustrations, and caricatures, the exhibition captures the art and the life of a man who’s literary and cultural legacy ranks among the giants of literature. Through February 12, 2012. At The Morgan Library & Museum.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART’S Stay-at-Home museum enthusiasts can visit the redesigned website provides unprecedented access to collections, programs, research, and visitor information. The redesigned site includes access to more than 340,000 works of art with a completely new streamlined design for greater ease of viewing the vast array of images. The new website provides online visitors with immediate, easy-to-navigate access to the vast works in the collections with high-resolution images. At www.metmuseum.org.
DUNCAN PHYFE The Hirsh & Adler Galleries of New York City opens a multi-media exhibition, The World of Duncan Phyfe-The Arts of New York, 1800-1847 developed to complement the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s winter exhibit of Phyfe as Master Cabinetmaker and to expand one’s understanding of Phyfe’s contribution to the world of 19th century fine furniture and decorative arts. This show is a rare opportunity to see the work made by Phyfe and his contemporaries seen alongside work created by artisans of the time in wood, silver, porcelain and metal. Coming up. Mark your calendars on view from December 15, 2011 to February 17, 2012.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m off to see Pierre-Narcisse Guerin’s work at the Morgan, perhaps he is an ancestor. Send Fan Mail to pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com. My recent Mad Hatter feature on http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

ARTIST AND FASHION SIGHTINGS IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-09-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Artists take the limelight in gallery vernissages, fashionistas’ take a holiday, the mad hatter comes to the Big Apple and dioramas fascinate and cultivate the mind. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very best events---mark your calendar. Here’s the scoop!!!
RED GROOMS NEW YORK: 1976-2011. Red Groom’s celebrates New York as the theme of the exhibition of the artist’s paintings, sculptures and installation pieces. Grooms has staked his claim as one of America’s most original, inventive, and popular artists with witty commentaries on modern life in New York such as Lunchtime on Broadway, Rainy Day Taxi and The Bus, which is a twenty one foot long recreation of a New York City bus. Grooms’ large scale figurative tableaux are more than entertainment. Caricature is often vicious and Grooms can offer a no-holds-barred message with bite. At the Marlborough Gallery, 40 West 57th St. through October 222, 2011. www.marlboroughgallery.com.
THE MAD HATTER Comes to New York. In addition to designing his own sensational hats, “An Anthology by British milliner, Stephen Jones” is a show stopper at the Bard Graduate Center, 18 West 86th Sts. It’s a breathtaking excursion through the history of hats, chosen by the master milliner who co-curated the exhibit of over 250 examples from Tudor England and the 18th-century India to contemporary New York milliners including Ellen Christine, Rod Keenan, Jennifer Ouellette to name a few. Leave it to Jones, the exhibit is edited into four themes; Inspiration, Creation, the Salon and The Client. Don’t miss it…there’s a peak into Jones’ amazing atelier workroom where creativity, ribbon and trims spills over onto the desk top and the floor. Through April 15, 2012. www.bgc.bard.edu.
DAPHNE GUINNESS The fashion show stopper superstar, who first ranked on the International Best Dress List in 1994, gets her due in a new exhibition that raided her closets at the Museum at FIT, 27th street & Seventh Ave., through Jan. 7, 2012. Why Daphne? Well aside from by being a creative force in her own right, she uses fashion to transform herself, and having an iconic sense of style and a serious couture collection, Daphne’s individualism transports us into imaginary worlds of opulence, decadence and luxury. Wearing ten-inch towering shoes and her classic white shirt and black leggings and her fantastic platinum-and-black striped hair she said at the press opening, “You should always dress up because you never know what man you may meet.” The exhibit opens with her footwear and sections intersected with walls of mirrors and scrims a hologram and short films and areas cordoned off: “Dandyism,” “Armor,” “Chic,” “Evening Chic,” “Exoticism” and “Sparkle.” Don’t miss this fashion icon’s “ultimate fashion fantasy.”www.fitnyc.edu.
OTHERWORLDLY: Optical Delusions and Small Realities is a rare and Lilliputian collection that traces the diorama back to Louis Daguerre to modern artist’s meticulous models and dioramas that invite you to investigate and be captivated by the meticulous artistry of cunningly created domestic and imaginary scenes. Chuck Close contemplating an unfinished portrait or Jackson Pollock frozen in the act of casting paint across a canvas on the floor resonates as familiar while Frank Kunert’s Menu a Deux a long table covered in linen and laid with silver bends 90 degrees around a corner, so the diners can watch two separate television and pretend they are alone. At the Museum of Arts and Design, closing this week. www.madmuseum.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I went to Daphne’s exhibit and it did not disappoint. In fact, I was really quite overwhelmed! Her staggering reinvention of fashion and the marvel of her 10-inch shoe collection and jewelry are worth the visit. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs by clicking in the right-hand column on www.pollytalk.com. Polly’s amazingartdecodivas feature on Marianne Brandt, Bauhaus Metallist is recently published in Contemporary Horizon magazine in Romania.

CELEBRATING BOOK LAUNCHES IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-09-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

It’s the best of literary New York and recent books debuting in the Big Apple do not disappoint with their typographic and design excellence. From riveting prose to children’s stories, books take the spotlight this week. It’s Best of New York my friends, the best of literary works in the Big Apple. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE SNOWY DAY The first major U.S. exhibition to pay tribute to award-winning author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats, Snowy Day is a milestone in multiracial representation in American children’s literature. In 1962, a little boy named Peter put on his red hooded snowsuit and stepped out of his house and into the hearts of millions of readers. The Snowy Day transformed children’s literature with its pioneering portrayal of an African-American child. Archie, Amy and Louie--some of Keats’s most beloved characters appear with Peter, the African-American protagonist of his landmark book. The 50th anniversary special edition of Snowy Day and other Keats’s books at The Jewish Museum shop, 1109 Fifth Ave. Videos and special events at www.ezra-jack-keats.org or type “snowy day” into the search bar at http://www.us.penquingroup.com/.
BRAZILIAN STYLE The quintessential guide to understanding the richness of Brazil from the coolness of the bossa nova to the rigor of modernist architecture, fashion, beauty, culinary arts and culture, BRAZILIAN STYLE, does not disappoint. Publisher Assouline presented W magazine editor and author Armand Limnander’s book with sparkling samba dancers during Fashion’s Night Out last week at the publisher’s outpost in the Plaza Hotel. Hamish Bowles, Vogue, Carlos Miele, fashion designer, Paulo Uchoa, Consulate General of Brazil were among the celebrities. A fresh and dynamic mix, the book captures the culture of one of the most vibrant nations on earth. http://www.assouline.com/.
MY BEST FRIEND, ABE LINCOLN Delightfully written and beautifully illustrated by John W. Ewing this book by author, Robert L. Bloch, My Best Friend, Abe Lincoln, is a tale of two boys from Indiana. It looks into the early life of Abraham Lincoln (11-14 years old, 1820-1823) through the eyes of a fictional best friend, as he grows up in southwestern Indiana and changes from a young country boy with pants always too short into the sixteenth President of the United States. The book highlights Lincoln’s love of learning and respect for people, fine lesson for children’s reading. Published by Big Tent Books. http://www.mybestfriendablelincoln.com/.
HOSTAGE IN TIME An exciting, mind-bending trip down the time-travel rabbit hole, psychic medium Linda Lauren’s debut novel is a fast-paced adventure full of romance and intrigue. The launch party, Thursday, September 15th at 6pm at The Merchant’s House Museum, 29 East 4th St., a 19th century museum house frozen in time with authentic furnishings, is an appropriate venue. Amanda Lloyd finds herself transported back in time to 1883 and is put under arrest, becoming a hostage to history. With her love interest Jonathan they work together to unravel the mystery and with the help of a spiritual medium they find and understand their destiny. http://www.lindalauren.com/.
THE BUDDHA in the ATTIC A riveting saga, it tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” nearly a century ago. With heart wrenching fast paced prose, the book traces the picture brides’ extraordinary lives, which turn out to be grave disappointments. In a language that has the force and fury of poetry author Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel from the brides’ tremulous first nights as new wives to their backbreaking work picking fruit in the fields, scrubbing the floors of white women, their sad experiences in childbirth to raising children and the final insult, the ‘disappearance’ of the Japanese during the deracinating arrival of war. Published Alfred A. Knopf. http://www.julieotsuka.com/.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Although The Buddha in the Attic is a mere 129 pages, its depth of understanding of the plight of the picture brides is monumental, I was so captivated by the author’s breezy poetic style that I couldn't put the book down. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the Blog of your interest. You might enjoy amazingartdecodivas.

CULTURE CITY RISES IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-09-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

Revisiting cultural sites in the Big Apple sets us on a whirlwind of venues from expressions of Ming protest to indulging in Parisian pastries. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the best of cultured tastes right here in the Big Apple. Here’s the scoop!!!
DIGNIFIED EXPRESSION OF QUIET DISSENT…In 17th-century China brings together 63 landscape paintings and calligraphies representing the mindset of men who found refuge in poetry and paintings when the nearly 300-year-old Ming dynasty collapsed. The exhibit, devoted to artists who masked their political views, reveals how an empty pavilion relates to lack and shortage of food and a bare landscape conveys passive resistance to the ruling society. Artists withdrew into imaginary landscapes as a way of distancing themselves from the political world. Part of the vocabulary of these poet/painters is an act of remembrance and regret. The sun setting indicated the end of the Ming Dynasty as did wilting Lotus leaves and unnatural frost on the mountaintop. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Opens September 7 through Jan. 2, 2012. www.metmusuem.org.
MACAROON MECCA…Don’t let the large queue on upper Madison Avenue deter your pursuit of Parisian macaroons at the chic boutique Laduree, the newly opened outpost of the French bakery. You’ll feel like you’re in Paris on the Rue Royale in 1862 in the fabled store’s ambiance inspired by the elegant marble-topped tables and painted antique furniture, gilt chandeliers and frescoed ceilings of the original shop. These delicious delicacies, including raspberry, pistachio, orange blossom and Madagascar chocolate to name a few favorites, are made in Paris and shipped overnight. They melt in your mouth, eating one is never enough. 864 Madison Ave. (70th and 71st streets) Mon.-Fri., 9am-6pm, Sat., noon to 6pm.
COMMEMORATING 9/11 THE IMPACT OF COMICS AND VISUAL ARTS ON CULTURE....marks the 10th anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history. In respect for this occasion, the major comic syndicates have rallied their cartoonists to dedicate their strips on that day to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. A lecture and vernissage at the Society of Illustrators, 128 E. 63rd St., opens 9.8, 6:30 pm. www.societyofillustrators.org. WHERE DOES THE DUST ITSELF COLLECT? An installation by Chinese artist, Xu Bing uses the dust that he collected from the streets of Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of 9/11. Recreating a field of dust across a floor surface, punctuated by the outline of a Zen Buddhist poem, the work explores the relationship between the spiritual and material world. Sponsored by the Museum of Chinese in America, on view at the Spinning Wheel Bldg, 5 E. 22 St, btw. 5th & 6th Aves., 12pm-6pm Tues-Sun. opens 9.9
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m off to indulge my fancy for some of those delectable macaroons. Fan mail is always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the Blog of your interest. Why not view some poetry from Rio con brio or my August Adieu!!! http//www.poetryfromtheheartbypollyguerin.blogspot.com.

NYC THE ART CENTER OF THE WORLD (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-08-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

A new crystal clear day awakens in New York’s art world with the literary lions counting up the numerous art openings and vernissages featuring Old Masters and new icons. It’s the Best of New York, my friends, the very Best of Culture right here in the Big Apple.
Here’s the scoop!!!
MING LOYALIST ART FROM THE CHIH LO LOU COLLECTION showcases The Art of Dissent in 17th Century China, a wrenching era which spurred an enormous outpouring of creative energy as many former Ming subjects turned to the arts to express their loyalty to the noble but doomed cause of Ming restoration. The exhibit in the Galleries for Chinese Painting and Calligraphy features more than 60 landscape paintings and calligraphies highlight the intensely personal styles created by the leading artists of that time. Even if you’re not a scholar of the genre, it is fascinating to see how enduring harsh conditions these subjects took refuge in nature and their representations of landscape often project their emotional responses to the radically changed world order. Opens Sept. 7th. www.metmuseumorg.
CELEBRATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF EZRA JACK KEATS’ SNOWY DAY. Award-winning author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats, whose beloved children’s books include Whistle for Willie, Peter’s Chair and The Snowy Day, has a play date at the Jewish Museum opening Sept. 9th. Published at the height of the American civil-rights movement The Snowy Day in particular became a milestone, featuring the first African-American protagonist in a full-color picture book. It went on to inspire generations of readers and paved the way for multiracial representation in American children’s literature. The exhibition features over 80 original works, dummy books to final paintings and collages in which he used lush color and strove for simplicity in his texts. www.thejewishmuseum.org.
INGRES AT THE MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM Aficionados of the genre can easily recognize the work of the French master of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) who is arguably the greatest portraitist of his time. He was a brilliant draftsman, and his drawings have long been prized along with his paintings. Beginning Sept. 9th, the Morgan will present works that span the artist’s career from his student days in Toulouse to his role as the head of one of the leading Parisian studios of the 1850s. This is a rare opportunity to see an exceptional group of drawings by an artist whose influence was widespread in his day and continued into the 20th century. William M. Griswold, director of the Morgan said, “Ingres was famous for his devotion to a classical style, yet a number of modern artists, such as Matisse and Picasso, were profoundly indebted to him.” www.themorgan.org.
TURKISH TASTE AT THE COURT OF MARIE ANTOINETTE is a dossier exhibit focusing on ‘turquerie,’ the 18th-century French aristocrats’ infatuation with all things Ottoman. Trends emerge from foreign lands, even the French designer Paul Poiret was caught up in the frenzy which was apparently ushered in by the 1776 performance in Paris of Sebastien-Roch Chamford’s tragedy Mustapha and Zeangir, which inspired everything from Turkish robes, tobacco and candy to the more full-on commitment of the Turkish corner in one’s home, the boudoir turc. The show at the Frick Collection features rare and rarely displayed objects from these rooms, whose Thousand and One Nights take on the Ottoman Empire means decorative motifs such as camels, Nubian slaves and palm trees. Not to be missed. Through Sept. 11th. www.frick.org.
PARIS DATELINE: THE ART OF THE AUTOMOBILE. It’s a Guy Thing that I couldn’t resist adding. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren boasts on the world’s greatest collections of classic automobiles, featuring sports cars from the 1930s to today. The Musee des Arts Decoratifs’ exhibit contains 17 exceptional vehicles, from 1929 Bentley to a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, as well as films and sound recordings. Catch it a www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Inspired by the Frick exhibit I think I’ve acquired the ‘turguerie’ fever and wearing again my Turkish robe bought in Istanbul. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the Blog links such as http://www.amazingartdecodivas.com.

BIG APPLE VENUES AND DAYTRIPPING (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-07-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

Although the Big Apple can be a vacation in itself, nearby day trips also give summer a very special way to enlarge your appreciation for other venues. From Broadway musicals to Stratford-upon-Avon-upon-Park Avenue and DUMBO delights, adding daytripping jaunts to the Amish country can be fun and educational. It’s the Best of New York, the Very Best of Everything, my friends. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE OLDEST AMISH COMMUNITY IN AMERICA….As the world turns its modern head into the 21st century one thing remains constant and that is the Lancaster’s "Old Order Amish' a self-sufficient community that has remained true to its beliefs and simplistic way of living. Learn about the Amish life on a day trip to Pennsylvania where you visit a quaint 1840s Amish farm house where electricity is banished and in a typical schoolhouse the school mistress with her white cap and simple dress sits ready to answer your questions, albeit with discretion. Don’t miss the blacksmith shop as busy today as yesteryear as the one-horse buggy is still the mode of transportation as it carries its Amish occupants through the pristine farmlands and country roads. Farm animals, including baby bunnies, reside in the barnyard. The day ends with a real buggy ride through the back roads of the Amish country. Hines Tours, 1.646.403.5653 Book on line at www.hinestours.com. Email: sales@hinestours.com.
STRATFORD-upon-AVON-upon-PARK AVENUE
Go no further than 67th street to the Park Avenue Armory where the Stratford-Upon-Avon’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre has been rebuilt within the confines of the Wade Thompson Drill Hall. Not only did they build the physical structure—a replica of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre but it is authentic, complete with its seating, lighting, wardrobe and personnel. Five full-length productions are staged including As You like It, The Winter’s Tale, King Lear, Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet. Audiences seeking to have the experience of being in an authentic Elizabethan theatre can see the plays from through August 14th. www.armoryonpark.com.
DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY Polly’s Theater Pick of the Week is a jolly 1920s romp through the Villa Felicita where the assembled Art Deco attired cast meets an unusual guest, Death himself disguised as a Russian Prince who will spend a mere weekend falling in love and causing havoc in the run among the social elite of the villa. Ah, but who will Mr. Death take with him when he leaves to go back to eternity…that is the intriguing question that can only be revealed if you see this new musical madness. At The Roundabout Theatre Company’s, Laura Pels Theater, W 46th St., www.roundabouttheatre.org.
OLD FULTON RESTAURANT Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is a short East River Ferry ride right to the heart of Dumbo-short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass—a location where the Brooklyn Heights Promenade offers spectacular views of Manhattan and a chance to take a detour to 70 Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights where Truman Capote wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's. Down to the waterfront the Old Fulton Restaurant with its nostalgic European paintings and ambiance is a final respite after visiting the Dumbo area. A reasonable lunch menu makes it a ‘find.’ I had baked eggplant, authentic and delicious!!! A dinner Prix Fixe at $22 includes appetizer and main course. 7 Old Fulton Street, 718.797.0007. www.7oldfulton.com, info@7oldfulton.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I loved ‘Death Takes a Holiday!” Any Art Deco aficionado would too. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click on the link in the right hand column http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com/.

A SUMMER HOLIDAY IN THE BIG APPLE (c) by Polly Guerin

2011-07-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Whether you're a Manhattan native or visiting tourist spectacular summer events provide a unique holiday in the Big Apple. From viewing the fireball sun, to dining in a neo-speakeasy restaurant to accordion, piano, jazz, music festivals it’s a joyous round of entertaining venues that make summer in the city the Best of New York, my friends, the Very Best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
MANHATTANHENGE…AN ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENON. Midtown is the place to be Wednesday Night, July 13th at 8:25 p.m. to catch Manhattanhenge (image above). This visual spectacle arrives when the setting sun aligns just so with New York City's street grid, casting a radiant glow of light across Manhattan’s skyscrapers and every cross street. As the sun dips below the horizon in perfect alignment with 42nd Street it sends waves of orange across the skyscraper facades, tricking the eye with visions of evening traffic headed into fiery oblivion. It’s an amazing occurrence, not to be missed and a great photo opportunity. Share yours with the American museum of Natural Histories Manhattanhenge group on Flickr.
MINETTA TAVERN, Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is the standard bearer of the old tavern tradition, a haunt frequented by the likes of various layabouts and hangers-on including various writers, poets and pugilists. The place reeks of nostalgia and as one passes through the red velvet entrance curtain the ghosts of the literati of the day seem to be still lurking in its dining room, albeit in photos on the walls. In its heyday Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Eugene O’Neill, E. E. Cummings and Dylan Thomas were regulars but today the neo-speakeasy is a modern fashionistas destination where its reputation as ‘the best steakhouse in the city,’ does not disappoint. 113 MacDougal St., NYC 10012. Tel: 212.475.3850 www.minettatavernny.com.
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL launches a month of free music in the West Village. Chill out, sit on the grass, find a bench seat and listen to operatic selections by Schubert, Mozart and other great composers in the repertoire of masterful music. Guest appearances by a New York Philharmonic clarinetist fills the summer nights with delightful melody, while jazz, by the late, master Charles Mingus gives cause to find our place in the maddening crows. Dates: July 12-Aug. 2. For schedule contact: www.washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org.
MUSIC, DANCE, POETRY, and a LUSH LAWN wind down at Bryant Park where accordion music, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, brings a nostalgic Parisian feel to a summer day. Ragtime jazz also has its due, and Word for Word Poetry introduces internationally renowned poets who share their latest works to an admiring public. Feeling playful, then pick up a mallet and join the Ping Pong enthusiasts at the 42nd Street Allee, cutting up games from 11am to 7pm daily. Deanna Wiktowski, world class pianist, holds forth at the Upper Terrace from 12:30pm-2:30pm. Contact events@urbanmgt.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! You’ll find me sun gazing on Wednesday night on 42nd Street. Fan mail: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs: go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the link to the Polly Blog of your interest like amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com.

DECORATIVE DIVERSITY IN THE BIG APPLE(c) By Polly Guerin

2011-06-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

Decorative diversity takes us on a stroll through the exotic ‘lost’ world of mystical Hinduism whilst stopping for a spot of tea and tranquility as we ponder the wonders of furniture art. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the Very Best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
VISHNU: HINDUISM’S BLUE-SKINNED SAVIOR, Polly’s Exhibit of the Week takes you on a visit to Vishnu, one of the most important Gods in Hinduism, often depicted with four arms, engaging simultaneously in many activities as well as a blue skin tone that associates him with the cool expanses of water and sky. The exhibit explores the many personae and legends of Vishnu, his entourage, and his accoutrements, as well as the diverse traditions of worship related to him. The Brooklyn Museum’s large scale exhibition includes Indian sculpture, paintings, textiles and ritual objects on view through October 2, 2011. 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn. www.brooklynmusum.org. Picture above: Vishnu Saving the Elephant, mid 18th century. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper.
KNOLL TEXTILES, 1945-2010 Founded on the premise that a well-designed environment enriches our lives, Knoll, the German-born U.S. furniture producer of modern textile design, supplied sleek, classic and sophisticated furnishings and interior design for chic office environments and gave new meaning to ‘modern’ in the 1940s. The exhibit at Bard Graduate Center, 18 W. 86th St. comprises approximately 175 examples f textiles, furniture, photographs and ephemera using color and texture as primary design elements with new fabrications: parachute webbing, fishnet and manmade fibers. Over the years Knoll’s contribution to modern environments included the work of leading artists, architects and designers including Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier, Mies van de Rohe and Frank Gehry. Through July 31, 2011. Visit http://www.bgc.bard.edu.
FRANCHIA RESTAURANT, Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is a welcome refuge for a spot of tea in an unexpected location: Park Avenue (Between 34th & 35th Sts.). Tea and tranquility merge in a Zen-like setting that is a welcome retreat from summer sightseeing and museum hopping. With an extensive tea menu you can find just the right tea to tame the heat or soothe a headache. If comfort food is needed, try the Asian-inspired vegan menu that has an exotic flair and tasty sauces. Franchia is located at 12 Park Avenue. 212.213.1001. www.franchia.com.
ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT Polly’s Movie Pick of the Week is an enchanting story of Flora, adopted at 2 years old by David Balding the owner of a small St. Louis circus who made her into the star attraction and their attachment is a lesson in love and devotion. In the end as both owner and animal become old together Balding must find a home for Flora but the separation is heart wrenching and the separation unbearable for both. The unhappy consequence of this relationship makes one pause to think twice about separating animals from other members of their species. At Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St, west of Sixth Avenue. www.filmforum.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to visit the Blue-Skinned Savior. Fan mail welcome www.pollytalk.com . Visit Polly Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

GARDENS 'N MUSIC SERENDADE NEW YORKERS (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-06-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

The 'Leopard' at Des Artistes>>>

Visit Spain’s Alhambra, enjoy music, dance and poetry on a lush lawn, hear music in a sculpture garden, and bask in the summer serenade. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the Very Best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
SPANISH PARADISE, The Gardens of the Alhambra, pictured left, a feast for the senses, features flowing fountains, elegant arches and a broad palette of Mediterranean plants that intoxicate with the aroma of rose, jasmine, lavender and gardenia in this Islamic palace city. It’s an exotic escape to Spain right here in New York City at New York Botanical Garden where the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory exhibit showcases manuscripts, watercolors, engravings and prints with a special section on New York’s native son Washington Irving, author of the fictional collection “Tales of the Alhambra.” Stroll along the poetry walk and read verses of Granada’s native son, the poet Federico Garcia Lorca. On weekends, there are Flamenco performances. At 2900 Southern Blvd. Bronx, NY. Through August 21. www.nybg.org.
MOMA’S SCULPUTE GARDEN, Polly’s Music Pick of the Week is a cool way to spend an evening of international music presented by MOMa’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden in two sets (5:30 and 7:00p.m) on Thursday nights during July and August. Featuring adventurous musical performers from Africa, South America, China, Indonesia, and beyond the musicians build on specific national and popular musical traditions, bringing new instruments into standard ensembles, and enlivening the music with distinctive personal approaches. As the music wasps through the night air sit back and feel the stress melt away. www.moma.org. FREE July 7,14,21,28 and August 4, 11, 18, 25.
THE LEOPARD AT DES ARTISTES, Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is set in the old Café des Artistes where scenes of those naked nymphs cavorting in the restored murals remain a favorite decor. The Wood Nymphs and Swing Girls look brighter and happier and so do the patrons of the Italianized version of the old-favorite restaurant. The long front room, elevated dining area and bar behind it survived but the new mellow lighting makes diners’ faces glow almost as fetchingly as those of the nymphs on the walls. Regional authenticity includes fregula, a seafood couscous ragout of Sardinian inspiration while other dishes speak of Sicilian, Calabria and Sicily origins. At 1 W. 67th St. 212.878.8768.
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! “PAGE ONE" is Polly’s Movie Pick of the Week. Contrary to what the naysayers say newspapers are not dead and the movie Page One: Inside the New York Times, an entertaining documentary by Andrew Rossi, attests to the value of newspaper journalism and the incredible journey of the pulp process. Watch as editors and reporters tackle news breaking stories, deliberate on developing stories and grind out with dizzy race the news in the hectic newsroom. Grindstone journalism at its best “Page One” is a ‘must see’ for the sheer value of appreciating newspaper journalism. Check movie schedules in your local newspaper.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m heading for the Alhambra, a short hop on Metro North of the Botanical Gardens. Send fan mail to: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the Blog of your interest. The latest feature “Yoga: Rock & Roll Exercises in the Sky” at http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeautyedgarcayce.blogspot.com.

SERIOUS CULTURE IN STORIED VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-06-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

“Making Lists” creates historical reference to famous and celebrated Literati, while Museum Mile celebrates art and Callas returns to the stage waxing nostalgic over Ari. It's the Best of New York my friends, the Very Best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
LISTS, TO-DOS, ILLUSTRATED INVENTORIES, COLLECTED THOUGHTS! Save your lists my friends!!! Who ever thought that these documents would be historically significant? On view at the Morgan Library & Museum the exhibit presents a broad range of artists jottings, from Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder to H. L. Mencken to Elaine de Mooning and Lee Krasner to name a few giving an intimate view of an artist’s personal life. Take Franz Kline’s $274.51 liquor, I’d like to have gone to that New Year’s Eve bash for his abstract artist friends. Then let’s take a lesson from Adolf Konrad’s whimsical and detailed “Illustrated Packing List” for a 1962 trip to Rome, pictured at left. Picasso was a list maker par excellence. He itemized his recommendations for the ground-breaking 1913 Armory show. These personal artifacts sometimes become works of art, some dashed off quickly, other beautifully illustrated. www.themorgan.org.
MASTER CLASS, Polly’s Theater Pick of the Week, CALLAS is back in true form in the guise of Tyne Daly who comes to the stage to teach Master Class just as Callas did at Julliard during her last years. I was there when the original Callas dispensed the secret of her art to a new generation of singers passing through her searing scrutiny. Her directives were riveting and glad I was not to be one of the singers on the stage under her baton. During Class, Callas monologues about her tempestuous relationship with Aristotle Onassis. Tyne Daly holds class at the Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., with an affable Manny (Jeremy Cohen) at the piano. Previews begin June 14. Tickets as low as $48. ClubManager@playbill.com.
MUSEUM CRAWL, Polly’s Event of the Week Tuesday, June 14th is FREE for the walking, up and down Fifth Avenue where New York City’s cultural institutions open their doors for Museum Mile that stretches from 82nd to 110th Streets. Start at the top at Museum for African Art (110th St.) where dance performances enliven the evening and nearby catch El Museo del Barrio’s Files: Voces y Visiones featuring works of Latino Caribbean and Latin-American artists, and don’t miss Joel Grey’s exhibit, “New York Life” at the Museum of the City of New York . Fashion aficionados head for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum for the Van Cleef & Arpels jewels and the Parisian artist, Sonia DeLaunay’s textiles and interior design. Stop off at the Neue Gallerie for Vienna 1900 and check out the Café Zabriske to indulge your chocolate cravings. Catch your breath and go up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s roof for Anthony Caro’s sculptures and a breathtaking view of the city while sipping cocktails named after the art works. More fun awaits with entertainers, variety acts and musicians along the way.
ARTISANAL, Polly’s Restaurant of the Week, off Park Avenue and 32nd Street, a Fromagerie Bistro and wine bar, features a unique varied menu and a world of cheese specialties including the starter sampler, the Cheese Plate with three seasonal cheeses $15.50, wine is extra. The Lunch Prix Fixe is value priced at $25 and includes Hors-D’oeuvres, Plats Pricipaux, a choice of 3 entrees such as Wild Mushroom Risotto with Fava Beans and Black Truffle Butter. Desserts include Crème Brulee “Le Cirque.” On a budget? Choose, Croque Monsieur/Madam or Vegetable Quiche at $16.50 or the Artisanal Blend Burger $15.50. Best to make a reservation. 212.725.8585. http://www.artisanalbistro.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m revisiting Callas at MASTER CLASS!!! Fan mail welcome, pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs: www.pollytalk.com, just click on the Blog of your interest in the right-hand column.

A NEW YORKER'S DREAM VACATION IN NYC (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-06-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

Why travel the globe when New York City is a dream vacation. Just stay put and invest in the Big Apple’s diversified venues from pulp art to a musical hit at its best, free movies and dining at Sardi’s. It’s the best of New York my friends, the very Best of New York!!! Here’s the scoop!!!
PULP ART: The Robert Lesser Collection. When Americans needed an escape from the harsh reality of day to day life pulp magazines provided the fantasy escape. This is a rare opportunity to view an almost forgotten art form because very little of the work, often by leading illustrators of the time remains today. Lesser said, this “unique American (art) form combined all the elements of the male imagination during the Great Depression.” An exhibition of 88 rare paintings created for the front covers of popular fiction magazines in the first half of the twentieth century are colorful, bold eye-catching adventure-charged scenes which pushed the boundaries of what was then acceptable to society. With a hint of six, rescued maidens, murder and mayhem the original oil paintings like the one pictured here "Fleeing in a motorcycle and sidecar after their heist" by Richard Lillis is on view at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrations through July 30th, 2011. FREE admission at 128 E. 63rd St., Tues. 10-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am to 5pm and Sat. 12-5pm. Visit www.societyillustrators.org.
BABY it’s YOU! Polly’s Theater Pick of the Week is one of the best musical hits on Broadway. Though I’m a devotee of classics and baroque I was blown away by The Shirelles with a high voltage cast re-enacting the story of how Florence Greenberg, a New Jersey housewife-turned-mogul, discovered four black teenage girls singing in a playground and turned it into one of the music industry’s greatest success stories, the Shirelles, one of the most successful girl groups of the early 1960s. No ordinary woman, Greenberg founded a record label and changed the face of pop music. They were a million dollar quartet, climbing the charts with such hits as “Soldier Boy,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and the title tune, “Baby its You!” You’ll be dancing in the aisles. At the Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W. 44th St.
A WEEKEND OF FREE FILMS June 10-12 in Lincoln Center’s first movie multiplex, the Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center. There will be a marathon of choices from Ran to Pulp Fiction. For Film schedule and Free Tickets visit www.filmlinc.com. West 65th Street, between Amsterdam & Broadway. The official opening is June 17th with “Page One,” inside the New York Times, a documentary about The Times newsroom. General Admission $30. www.TimesTalks.com or call (888) NYT-1870.
SARDI’S, Polly Restaurant Pick of the Week. To hang your picture on the wall of Sardi’s is to make your mark on the history of the American stage. Broadway’s hall of fame started in 1927 when Mr. Sardi was brainstorming about ideas to increase business. Taking a cue from Joe Zelli’s in Paris where the walls were covered with caricatures of celebrity patrons, Mr. Sardi hired Alex Gard, a Russian refugee who pledged to exchange caricatures for two meals a day. Sardi’s remains the “Toast of Broadway” and one can dine quite reasonable from a classic cuisine menu to veggies and tofu but do ask for the Sardi’s original, Baccone Dolce dessert, a sweet mouthful of meringue, fresh strawberries, whipped cream and a touch of chocolate. 234 W. 44th St. Reservations: 212.221.8444. www.sardis.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m going inside the New York Times newsroom checking in at the new film multiplex at Lincoln Center. Fan mail welcome pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs can be accessed at www.pollytalk.com, just click on the Blog of your interest in the right hand column.

A FASHIONISTA HOLIDAY IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-05-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

Fashion takes a holiday in New York at a museum sportswear retrospective, in a fashion designer movie; The Best is Yet to Come musical extravaganza and dining 'al fresco.' It’s the Best of New York, the Very Best of New York my friends. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE SPORTING LIFE exhibition takes the viewer through the historical phases of active wear exploring the relationship between sportswear and fashion from the mid-19th Century through the present. Featuring more than 100 garments, accessories, and textiles representing 16 sports, viewers see the evolution in silhouette, construction and technology that shaped what women wore to bicycle, play tennis, golf, swimming and other sports. Clothing for the Sporting Life has often influenced fashionable street attire. The exhibition also juxtaposes active sportswear garments with ready-to-wear styles that they have influenced. This breathtaking array of garments gives testament to the fact that fashion designers continue to be motivated by the sporting life. On view at The Museum at FIT in New York, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street through November 5, 2011. www.fitnyc.edu.
L’AMOUR FOU, Polly’s Movie of the Week is a tour de force taking in the richness of the life of famous Haute Couture French designer, Yves St. Laurent and the auctioning off of his treasures collected in a lifetime with his partner. The movie has a sad opening with a dissipated Yves bloated, hair dyed blond and slurring his words saying goodbye and closing his Maison de Couture. I wish they had not put that scene in the movie. I wanted to remember the dark haired Adonis, black horn rimmed glasses, the genius floating down the runway after one of his amazing fashion collections. Nonetheless the movie is a sentimental scenario of gorgeous homes, Morocco to name one, and those devotees, the fashionistas would love it. Check newspaper for locations.
SAVAGE BEAUTY: Alexander McQueen which opened May 4, has already drawn more than l80,000 visitors. It's amazing!!! The exhibit has been extended to August 7th at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. starting on Mon. June 6th. www.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME, Polly’s Theater Pick of the Week: features the unforgettable songs of music master Cy Coleman, in a musical romp, at its best, in a nightclub setting with orchestra and headline singers including Rachel York, Sally Mayes, Lillias White, Howard McGillin, Billy Stritch and David Burnham belting away favorites including over 30 songs: The Best is Yet to Come, Never Met a Man I didn’t like, Witchcraft, It Started With a Dream and Big Spender. In case you forgot Coleman also had numerous successes on Broadway. Larry Gelbart said “Cy's songs reflect our experiences, mirror our follies and encourage out fantasies.” My opinion: A show of this magnitude, versatility and enjoyment should be on Broadway. Not to be missed through July 3, 2011 at the 59E59 Theater. www.59E59.org.
ASTRA, Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is a welcome retreat from Bloomingdales and the hectic Third Avenue environment. Chill out on the terrace or dine inside on the 14th Floor of the D&D Building at 979 Third Avenue on Salads most refreshing to which you can add chicken, salmon or shrimp ranging from $12.50 to $l8.. Their burgers are nice a beefy or try the Turkey burger with Swiss cheese on a fresh baked snow flake roll. The Astra tuna salad on white or whole wheat is $11. Info: 212.644.9394 www.charliepalmer.com.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! Go and see, “The Best Is Yet to Come,” don’t miss it. You’ll be tapping your feet and yearning to sing along. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs can be accessed at www.pollytalk.com just click on the link in the right hand column to the Blog of your interest.

VISUAL ENTERTAINMENTS IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-05-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Never say “bored” in New York!!! From decorator show houses to movies that transport us to Paris, the return of three martini lunch and Anything Goes it’s the Best of New York, the Very Best of New York my friends. Here’s the scoop!!!
The 39th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House Twenty-two top interior designers, landscape artists create living spaces to awe and inspire us in the Upper East Side mansion located at 163 E. 63rd St in Manhattan through May 26th. See the how the “swells’ lived. The striking neo-Federalist style home is the former residence of John hay “Jock” Whitney and boasts unique historical details. If you’re looking for design inspiration the show showcases the best in interior design to benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Clubs. $30 contribution. I loved the glamorously romantic guest bedroom, by Barbara Ostrom Associates, Inc. pictured at the top of this column. www.kipsbaydecoratorsshowhouse.org.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, POLLY’S MOVIE PICK OF THE WEEK, It’s Woody Allen at his best. Take a vicarious time travel visit to Paris with a nerdy writer, where the recreated digs of Ernest Hemingway, Toulouse- Lautrec, Salvador Dali, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda become the writer’s muse and fantasy and even Gertrude Stein reads his novel. Such a happy romp is worth the time spent in the movies to laugh and remember that “We’ll Always Have Paris,” for romance and creative imagery. At most movies today, don’t miss a chance to revisit Paris and its historical personalities; you’ll even be convinced it’s possible.
THE MORGAN DINING ROOM is Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week where guests dine in the original family dining room in the Morgan Library & Museum. The “Three Martini Lunch,” my favorite libation, features three mini martini glasses garnished with either an olive, onion or twist. Executive chef Jared King’s Pierpont Salad or the Grilled Brook Trout is outstanding as are the desserts, particularly the Marcona almond tart or those yummy homemade cookies. 225 Madison Ave. at 36th Street. Reservations: 212.683.2130. .
ANYTHING GOES, POLLY’S THEATER PICK OF THE WEEK takes you on a nostalgic Art Deco romp on an Ocean Liner with a talented cast tap dancing its way through romantic escapes singing along with “I Get a Kick out of You,” “Easy to Love,” “It’s De-Lovely” and many other memorable Cole Porter songs. Joel Grey adds a whimsical touch as a gangster character twirling about among a cast of high energy actors/dancers that keep you riveted to your seats with hi jinks on the high seas. A Roundabout Theater Company production at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Ta Ta Darlings!!! I'm off to the Decorator Show House to indulge my dreams of creating a romantic bedroom. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the Blog of your interest. There are five. Do please leave a comment...and better yet do become a Follower.

RICH CULTURAL VENUES IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-05-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Astonishing archaeological discoveries, monumental art works, rich cultural venues right here in the Big Apple, plus Polly's Picks in restaurant and theater. It’s the Best of New York, my friends, the very of Best in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!
HISTORIC IMAGES OF THE GREEK BRONZE AGE A breathtaking visit to the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, focuses on the work of Swiss-born Emile Gillieron (1850-1924) and his son who were among the foremost art restorers of their time. The installation of exquisite reproductions of the "Ladies in Blue" pictured above and “Throne of Minos” at Knossos includes original works and numerous watercolors. The restored frescoes created by the Gillierons’ are a tribute to their creative ability to recapture the past. Curator Sean Hemingway, an archaeologist in his own right, cites the fact that the installation draws from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s own collection of Gillieron works, which is the largest in existence. Immerse yourself in the exquisite terracotta and the dulcet blues that are as translucent as the Aegean Sea itself. Though November 13, 2011 www.metmuseu.org.
RYOJI IKEDA the transfinite Not to be Missed!!! Japan’s leading electronic composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda unveils ‘the transfinite’ an immersive sonic and visual environment that subsumes visitors within abstract expressions of digital information and binary code on a scale that defies comprehension. Breathtakingly provocative black and white projections are keyed to a tightly synchronized musical composition that explores how data defines the world we live in. At the Park Avenue Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall, 643 Park Ave. at 67th St. For information and ticketing, visit www.armoryonpark.org or call 212.933.5812
A LITTLE JOURNEY BY RACHEL CROTHERS, Polly’s Theater Pick of the Week features a stellar cast in a heartfelt human comedy, circa 1918, when ten strangers on a train take the ride of their lives on a 4-day trip westbound for the Coast. The story unfolds with love and sorrow showcasing an eccentric and charming array of unforgettable personalities traveling on a Pullman style train in the round (very much like a merry-go-round) as it moves into different vignettes and the multi-faceted stories unfold with passenger interaction. At the Mint Theater, 311 W. 43rd St., 212.315.0231, www.minttheater.org.
‘ELSEWHERE’ Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is affordable and quaint right in the heart of Theater Row at 403 W. 43rd St. Brunch is a value and the maple soaked French toast ($15) is divine. I had eggs Benedict ($12) and Coffee ($3) and a Rhubarb Cobbler ($7) that was as delicious as grandmother made. Libations are separate. Lunch is not pricey, nor is dinner. It’s a ‘find’ and there’s cozy dining in a little glass-ceiling enclosed garden room. Call 212.315.2121 www.elsewherenyc.com
Ta Ta darlings!! I’m going to immerse myself in “The Transfinite,” and define my role in the digital age. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. For Polly Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

INTELLECTURAL CULTURE, THE BEST OF NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-05-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Art, Literary Celebrities and sculpture venues provide dazzling intellectual culture in the Big Apple, and most are free for the viewing. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very Best in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!
'ECHO' IN MADISON SQUARE PARK It’s startling, it’s amazing!!! Among the trees on the central Oval Lawn of Madison Square Park Spanish sculptor, Jaume Plensa’s 'ECHO' a 44-foot-tall sculpture of an elongated white head overpowers the view. A monument to everyday people the fiberglass-reinforced sculpture of the head and neck of a young girl, its monumental size and vertical orientation, reflects the architecture surrounding the park, yet the sculpture exudes a welcoming tranquility in this urban oasis. Location: 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue. www.madisonsquarepark.org. ROOMS WITH A VIEW The Open Window in the 19th Century is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s small but elegant exhibition gives us a peak into the refined interiors of houses where singular people peer out of windows in melancholy repose or lover’s chat by an open window and the artist’s studio of Caspar David Friedrich with its spare interior enchants with its spare floor boards and casement window. Most fetching is “Woman at the Window” (1822) by Friedrich pictured above. As sunlight streams through the window one only can imagine that she is dreaming of some far off reverie. A precious exhibition both nostalgic and winsome. Through July 4, 2011. www.metmuseum.org. A LITERARY CELEBRITY: LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON A woman determined to succeed, in her day Letitia Landon was an international literary celebrity, whose works were widely circulated throughout the British Isles, on the Continent, and in the United States. Her success as a young single woman carving out an independent career in the tough arena of literary London in the 1830s is also profiled in Polly’s Blog: http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com. On view through May 27th at the Grolier Club 47 East 60th Street are manuscripts, first editions, prints, photos, and other materials that illuminate the life and art of a leading British writer of the late Georgian and early Victorian period. www.grolierclub.org. FREE of charge, Monday-Saturday, 10am to 5pm. ILLUMINATING FASHION Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands explores the evolution of fashionable clothing in Northern Europe drawn from The Morgan & Library’s collections, over fifty illuminated medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and early printed books are feature. The exhibition demonstrates the richness of symbolism and how artists used clothing and costume as codes to help viewers interpret an image. In these works of art, what people wear is a clue to their identities and moral character. Discover for yourself. Exhibit May 20 through September 4, 2011. www.themorgan.org.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I am dashing off for the press preview of Illuminated Fashion to hopefully shed light on historical costume. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly Blogs: www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

AR VERNISSAGES ALL AROUND THE TOWN (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-05-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

Eastside/Westside all around the town rich cultural venues in galleries and museums reach new heights of entertainment from an exhibition devoted to Picasso’s muse, contemporary art at Sotheby’s, the Cone Sisters collection to McQueen the wizard of fashion art. It’s the best of New York my friends, the very Best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
PICASSO AND MARIE-THERESE “L’Amour Fou” The woman at the show at the Gagosian Gallery is Marie-Therese Walter, called the greatest sexual passion of Picasso’s life. Not only was she his submissive sexual conquest, artistic muse and the mother of his daughter, she is credited with bringing Picasso out of Cubism into the fleshy portraits infused with color, decoration and sensuality. The mistress was seventeen, he was 45, and she had never heard of Picasso but became his longtime secret between-the-wars mistress-muse for ten years. In the 80-work show the many guises of Marie-Therese are portrayed but most fitting to their clandestine relationship he sews her mouth shut to indicate the close-lipped secret affair that he was hiding from his wife Olga. At Gagosian Gallery, 522 W. 21st St., through June 25. 212.741.1717.
KOONS’ PINK PANTHER
Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction will be led by Jeff Koons' iconic Pink Panther. One of the most important works by the artist, the porcelain figure of a bare-breasted blonde hugging the Pink Panther is showcased in a mirrored alcove as the statue revolves in a glittering display of sensuality. All of the art including major works by many leading artists of the 20th and 21st centuries are on view from May 6 to April 29; the auction takes place on May 10. On May 25 Sotheby’s will present “A Discerning Eye,” a remarkable single owner sale that includes a delightful miniature of Frida Kahlo, just 2 inches in height, the smallest self-portrait of the Mexican painter for her lover, the artist Jose Batoli, who kept the small treasure in his possession for over 50 years. Pre-sale exhibition opens on May 21. Sotheby’s New York, 1334York Ave. @ 72nd St. 212.606.7000.
THE CONE SISTERS OF BALTIMORE
Claribel and Etta Cone began buying art directly out of the Parisian studios of avant-garde artists in 1905 and eventually amassed one of the world’s greatest art collections including works by such artists as Gauguin, Renoir, van Gogh and Cezanne. They followed their passion and discovered the unknown Pablo Picasso and included Henri Matisse and Gertrude Stein among their friends. In addition to the masterworks of French art, textiles, decorative arts, photographs and memorabilia provide an insight into the Cone sisters’ remarkable story. “Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters” exhibit at The Jewish Museum opens May 6. http://www.thejewishmuseum.org. Pictured above from the Cone Collection, Henri Matisee, Striped Robe, Fruit and Anemones. (1940)
THE MET’S EXTRAVAGANZA
Homage to the late Alexander McQueen at Monday night’s gala took on a Scottish theme with bagpipers to wood décor and a verdant garden ambiance. Prior to gala night Daphne Guinness honored the designer publically getting dressed in a window of Barney’s Madison Avenue store for street viewers to see her stepping into McQueen’s floor-length gown made out of ostrich features. A stunning list of celebrities turned out to pay tribute to the daring designer wearing dramatic curve-hugging silhouettes to fabulous, frothy ball gowns everywhere. There was the macabre as well, such as the scene “Highland Rape,” in a destructed scene with mauled models. The spectacle at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, 1000 Fifth Ave., from May 4-July 31. http://www.metmuseum.org/.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Picasso’s amazing oeuvre at Sotheby’s includes his surrealist “Woman,” but I’m also heading West to the Gagosian to see the many faces of Marie-Therese. Fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net and for Polly Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

A FASHIONISTA'S HOLIDAY IN New York City (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-04-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

Art is fashion, fashion is art and the MET roof is alive with monumental sculptures, while antique dealer lectures and lady collectors delight in a spring splurge of openings. The best of New York my friends, The best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
SAVAGE BEAUTY, Alexander McQueen Fashion in the extreme!!!
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s spectacular homage to the late British Fashion designer Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) showcases 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from the designer’s career, mostly exceptional creations, pieces that dramatized a seasonal fashion show’s finale. His couture level artistry included armadillo-shaped heels worn by lady Gaga and his famous ‘bumster” new shape trousers coveted by every fashionista from coast to coast. From May 4 to July 31, the Costume Institute at the MET. www.metmuseum.org.
ON THE ROOF, Cocktails with Anthony Caro’s Sculptures
The most influential and prolific British sculptor of his generation Anthony Caro’s monumental steel sculptures steal the view on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Roof Garden where the massive forms create a dialogue between sculpture and the unparalleled views of the New York City skyline. See the large scale works during the cocktail hour when the Martini Bar offers several cocktails named after the sculptures such as the Midday Martini, named after ‘Midday’ the giant yellow sculpture; the cocktail Blaze On inspired by ‘Blazon,’ the compelling brick red behemoth, and the After Summer libation named after the breathtaking sculpture ‘After Summer.’ On view April 26-October 30. Next year Caro’s undulating, three- block steel sculpture will dominate the Park Ave. center malls from 59 to 62nd St. Remember you hear it on Pollytalk first.www.metmuseum.org.
COLLECTING MATISSE AND MODERN MASTERS
Henri Matisse called them “My two Baltimore ladies.” Their friend Gertrude stein wrote a poem about them entitled, ‘Two Women.’ The sisters Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone began buying art directly out of the Parisian studios of avant-garde artists in 1905 including Picasso who was virtually unknown at the time. The Cones followed their passion and eventually amassed one of the world’s greatest art collections including Matisse, Gauguin, Renoir, Cezanne and van Gogh. The Jewish Museum presents over 50 works from the Baltimore Museum of Art’s renowned Cone Collection from May 6 through Sept. 25. In addition to masterworks of French art, the exhibition includes textiles and decorative arts, some of which have never been seen in NYC before. www.thejewishmuseum.org.
CELEBRATED LECTURE SERIES AT AADL
The Inaugural Spring Show of the Art and Antique Dealers League of America’s lecture series features lively discussions by prominent international museum curators, scholars and prominent interior designers. Thursday, April 28 at 11:30 am, Le Bon Marriage, The French Alliance of Modernism and the Luxury Trades with Derek E. Ostergard; at 3 pm, Architecture for Animals: Menageries and Aviaries in 18th and 19th-Century England with Tim Knox. On April 29, 11:30 Beauty and Art in the Living Jewel with Ruth Peltason and at 3pm Decorating with Antiques for Today with Mario Buatta. Sat. April 30 at 11:30 am Marie Antoinette in America with Ronald Freyberger. Park Avenue Armory, 67th and Park Ave. April 28-May 2. 11 am to 7:30 pm; and Monday May 2; 11 am to 5 pm. $20 Adm., five-day pass $40. www.springshownyc.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m taking to the skies on the MET roof and sipping my Blaze On cocktail. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. To view Polly Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest. There are five Blog choices.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY, ANTIQUES, POETRY MONTH (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-04-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Cultural diversity, Live Out Loud, headlines events in the Big Apple this week with Art and Antique dealers salute to animals, April is Poetry Month and a vicarious trip to Vienna 1900. Only in New York my friends, only in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!! ART AND ANTIQUE DEALERS LEAGUE OF AMERICA Immerse yourself in one of the most exciting new fine art and antiques shows which offers every collecting taste from antiquities through the 20th Century at all prices. Of special interest is the selection of animal-motif fine and decorative arts set aside to benefit the ASPCA on opening night. The lecture program includes Architecture for Animals: Menageries and Aviaries in the 18th and 19th Centuries, by Tim Knox, director of the Sir John Soane Museum in London, as well as decorating talk by the always-entertaining Mario Buatta, the beloved “Prince of Chintz.” Park Avenue Armory, 67th St. and Park. Visit www.springshownyc.com. Gen. Adm $20, 5-day pass $40. LIVE OUT LOUD Celebrating ten years of supporting and inspiring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Live Out Loud celebrates its Tenth Annual Young Trailblazers Benefit Gala, on April 25th at The Times Center in New York City with host actor Michael Urie at the podium. Live Out Loud, a non-profit founded by Leo Preziosi, presents programs workshops and panels at high schools and colleges. The Homecoming Project, a grassroots initiative brings successful gay adults to their high schools to share their stories with today’s students. Honorees include fashion designer, Ralph Rucci, Hal Rubenstein, fashion director InStyle; theater producer Daryl Roth and others. Tickets start at $125. Contact 212.228.7446, ext 15 or visit www.liveoutloud.info. CELEBRATING NATIONAL POETRY MONTH Call up your muse and write a poem. National Poetry Month instituted in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets brings poetry to wider public attention through readings workshops and other events. More than 40 American men and women of verse are represented, along with a one-liner quote such as Langston Hughes’ “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” In the American Poet’s Corner at St. John the Divine on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. Edgar Allan Poe lived in New York on West Third Street when “The Raven” was published. Chick on the link for Polly’s poetry: http://www.poetryfromtheheartbypollyguerin.blogspot.com. VIENNA 1900: STYLE AND IDENTITY A time and place of incredible richness “Vienna 190—its intellectual strength, its sensuality and it emotional directness—is the core of the Neue Galerie New York’s exhibition featuring more than 250 paintings, sculpture, works on paper, fashion and decorative art objects. Highlights include the painting Hope II (Vision) by Gustav Klimt and decorative works by Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos and other notables. 1048 Fifth Ave. at 86th St. Film showing includes A Woman’s Pale Blue handwriting (105 min) on Mon, April 25 and May 2 Free of charge at 4pm in Café Fledermaus. www.neuegalerie.org. Ta Ta darlings!!! I hope to see you at Live Out Loud on Monday, April 25th. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. To access Polly’s Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

ART VENUES SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS (c) by Polly Guerin

2011-04-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

SOFA NEW YORK 2011

As jonquils spring forth nodding their yellow heads towards spring art venues in New York rise to new heights exploring art on a roof garden, Nordic vernissage and historic walking tours. Here’s the scoop!!! SCULPTURES by ANTHONY CARO Soaring to new heights Caro’s steel sculpture installation on the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a breathtaking leap into space. Considered one of the most influential and prolific British sculptors of his generation, Caro has been a key figure in the development of modernist sculpture over the last 60 years and the elegance and wit of the unexpected, delicately colored forms will look marvelous silhouetted against the undulating green carpet of Central Park. Mark your calendar. April 26-October 30 (weather permitting). http://www.metmuseum.org/. NORTH BY NEW YORK New Nordic Art a new installation at Scandinavia House, The Nordic Center in America, presents a condensed overview of recent art from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden focusing on the dynamism and diversity of contemporary Nordic artists. The exhibit includes painting, sculpture, photography and video installations. Opens April 14th, at 58 Park Avenue @ 38th St. http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS IN MURRAY HILL Touring in New York…The Amateur Comedy Club, a private membership club and America’s oldest performing theatrical society in the country occupies two carriage houses in Sniffen Court area opens its doors to a tour on April 13th at 5pm, including a visit to the exteriors of all ten 1860s carriage houses along the charming, landmarked enclave, plus the de Lamar’s landmark Beaux Arts mansion is also on the agenda. The Space is limited. Contact: http:://www.hdc.org./secretlivetour/htm. SOFA NEW YORK The 14th Annual contemporary design and decorative art fair opens April 14 through Sunday April 17 at the Park Avenue Armory featuring 50 galleries representing 12 countries of the most innovative masterworks in ceramics, glass, metal, wood and fiber by major artists. The event features an acclaimed Lecture Series with prominent scholars, artists, and curators. At Park Avenue @ 67th Street. General admission $25, four day admission $40. Tickets available at http://www.sofaexpo.com/ or at the door.

Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m going Behind Closed Doors for a sneak look at how the swells live. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Access Polly Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

POETRY IN THE ARTS DOMINATES BIG APPLE VENUES(c) By Polly Guerin

2011-04-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Bold and startling historic ceramics speak volumes on poetry while drawings and illustrator art openings draw the pleasure of your company as does the Cherry Blossom festival. Here’s the scoop!!! POETRY IN CLAY A rare opportunity to see Korean Buncheong Ceramics exploration of the bold and startlingly modern ceramic tradition that flourished in Korea during the 15th and 16th centuries of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), as well as its eloquent reinterpretations by today’s leading ceramists. The exhibition showcases a number of masterpieces, including six registered treasures, such as the stunning drum-shaped bottle with inlaid peony decoration, pictured here. April 7-August 14, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. http://www.metmuseum.org/. R. CRUMB: Lines Drawn on Paper Any adult who is an aficionado of the comic book genre is familiar with R. Crumb, the godfather of underground comics, and now comes a “Don’t Miss” chance to see his work mounted on display at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators. Nearly 100 of Crumb’s amazing oeuvre, including covers and inside pages from ZAP and Weirdo, as well as drawings of Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural are a chance to recapture youthful enthusiasm for Crumb’s work. The FREE exhibit runs through April 30 at 128 E. 63rd St. http://www.societyillustrators.org/. JOHN STORRS: Machine-Age Modernist Art Deco enthusiasts mark your calendar for the John Storrs’ exhibit of one of the most important modernist sculptors to emerge in the early 20th century. He adopted the columnar, “building block” idiom in his work, free-standing stone sculptures in both figural and abstract modes that echo the burgeoning Art Deco movement. His work attests to a society enraptured with the sleek aesthetic embodied in early skyscrapers. FREE From April 12 to July 9th, at Grey Art Gallery/NYU 100 Washington Square East. April 12. http://www.nyu.edu/. IN LOVE WITH CHERRY BLOSSOMS They’re petaling romance at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. As the pink petals fall around you the Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the most romantic ways to welcome spring during the annual month long event when the 52-acre garden is blanketed in petals. Check their website: www.bbg.org. for the up-to-the-moment progress reports on the blossom-budding of the 42 species of cherry trees. Sit under the trees and write poetry. Ta Ta darlings!!! No need to travel far. I’m visiting the Cherry Blossom Festival in Brooklyn. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the link to the Polly Blog of your interest.

BLOOMING CULTURE IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-03-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

Spring is bursting out all over and New York is blossoming with cultural variety from opening windows on the 19th Century to three centuries of quilts, Cuban Fiestas and First Saturday celebrations. Only in New York, my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!! ROOMS WITH A VIEW Who’s looking out the window of art now? You can at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition “The Open Window in the 19th Century.” Like a metaphor for unfulfilled longing a woman gazes out a window in a hushed, sparse room that is filled with a poetic play of light and perceptible silence. Romantic poet Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg 1772-1802), wrote: “Everything at a distance turns into poetry; distant people, distant events, and distant mountains; all becomes Romantic.” Exhibit includes gallery talks, a Sunday at the Met lecture program and a musical presentation on May 22. April 5-July 4. http://www.metmuseum.org/. CUBAN FIESTAS and THE HAVANA HABIT Explores La Fiesta Cubana from the 19th century to the present and its influence on United States culture and history in the spheres of music, dance and sports. The Havana Habit traces the relationship between Cuban and U.S. societies as reflected in the mambo and Hollywood musicals, I Love Lucy, and noir writing. Renowned writers Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria and Gustavo Perez Firmat will discuss and read from their publications. At Americas Society, 680 Park Ave. at 68th St. March 31, 7pm. Free open to the public. Non members must reserve in advance at culture@americas-society.org. INFINITE VARIETY: THREE CENTURIES OF RED AND WHITE QUILTS "Infinite Variety" Quilts: Red and White has been a classic color scheme for American quilts since the early 19th century and provide a link to our cultural heritage. Quilts were symbolic of a variety of patriotic, personal and creative endeavors embroidered in red with designs from storybooks, nature, national exhibitions and famous parsonages, plus traditional geometric, snowflake and appliqué quilts, “fund raisers,” including Red Cross quilts from the private collection, 650 quilts of Joanna S. Rose presented in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum at the Park Avenue Armory, 67-68th Sts. An extraordinary gift to the public. Entry to this unprecedented event is free. Closes March 30th. FIRST SATURDAY CELEBRATES NORMAN ROCKWELL The Brooklyn Museum’s Target First Saturday attracts thousands of visitors to free programs of art and entertainment each month. The First Saturday, April 2nd event is a celebration of the different techniques artists employ to create a final product, as showcased in the special exhibition “Behind the Camera.” At 6:30 to 8:30 pm you can sketch a charcoal portrait from live models as they emulate poses found in Rockwell’s illustrations. Timed tickets at the Visitor Center at 5:30 pm. 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY. For complete program: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org. Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m longing to see "Rooms with a View" at the MET. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly Blogs: go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest. Above my photo is the link to Polly's Monday column.

SPRING IN NEW YORK MUSIC, LITERATURE, CRAFTS (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-03-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

There’s an air of South American rhythms filtering through the cultural landscape of New York City bringing with music, literature and crafts to fulfill any social calendar with a Spanish flavor. Here’s the scoop!!!
MUSIC AND LITERATURE

Venezuela comes to the Americas society on March 25th at 7 pm in a special presentation, which complements “Contemporary Venezuelan Voices,” when pianist Mariantonia Placios performs and discusses a selection of dances from the late 19th century to the early 20th century by Venezuelan composers including Pedro Larrazabal. The pianist will discuss the individual pieces as well as the phenomenon of musical publication in Venezuelan periodicals. Free with reservation. Members attend the meet the artist reception. Americas Society, 680 Park Ave. at 68th St. Non members must register in advance Culture@americas-society.org.
CARMEN MIRANDA

One more reason to be proud of the Brazilian Bombshell. In the spirit of the rich tradition of honoring people who have influenced American culture and history, the United States Postal Service has issued new Forever stamps to celebrate five legendary showbiz Latin artists who have impacted North American music. Among them is the most well-known entertainer the Portuguese-Brazilian star Carmen Miranda. Specifically out of the group Carmen Miranda was the one who directly contributed more to bringing joy and entertainment to the American population in the very difficult time of World War II. The stamps are the art of the distinguished painter Rafael Lopez.
TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE

Commemorating the Centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire that claimed the lives of 146 factory workers, mostly immigrant Italian and Jewish women, the Fashion Institute of Technology is holding a day-long conference “Contemporary Labor Struggles,” on Saturday, March 26 from 9 am to 4 pm. Free and Open to the public. The tragic event led to the most sweeping set of workplace labor reforms in America and historians and labor activists will participate in talks and panel discussions on contemporary labor struggles in the U.S. and around the world. At FIT, Seventh Ave. at 27th St. Exhibits by artists and FIT students also will be on display.
THE GRAPHIC IMPULSE

German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse focuses on the explosive production of graphic art, prints, drawings, posters, illustrated books and periodicals associated with expressionism, the broad modernist movement that developed in Germany and Austria during the early decades of the 20th century. The movement encompasses a host of individuals and groups with varying stylistic approaches who shared a commitment to intense, personal expression and the desire to achieve a heightened awareness of what it is to be human. Artists in the exhibition include Max Berkmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Erich Heckle, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner to name a few. At MOMA, March 27-July 11, 11 West 53 St. www.moma.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I can’t wait to celebrate Carmen Miranda and stamp my letters. Fan mail is always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and in the left hand column click on the Polly Blog of your interest. There are 4 listed.

A FASHIONISTA HOLIDAY IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-03-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Fashion is art and art is fashion!!! Fashionista venues dominate New York's social scene from Sonia Delaunay, Vivienne Westwood, Bill Cunningham to The Bottomless Closet. Here’s the scoop!!!
COLOR MOVES: Art & Fashion by SONIA DELAUNAY

An abstract painter and extraordinary colorist known for her jarring color juxtapositions and abstract textiles, Sonia Delaunay’s oeuvre inspired countless designers who followed. She caused a stir in 1925 when she opened her Boutique Simultane featuring fashions with Picasso-ish harlequin motifs and abstract prints. Designs highly coveted by the fashionistas of her day included Nancy Cunard and the wives of the modernist architects including Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius. The exhibition at the Cooper-hewitt National Design Museum is on view from March 18th –June 5, 2011. 2 East 92st St. www.cooperhewitt@si.org.
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, 1980-1989

The only British Designer who could not only explore extremes in dress, but make sense of them, Vivienne Westwood is the star attraction in an exhibit at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology that examines the designer’s transition from street styles (and Punk innovator) to high fashion designer during the 1980s, and how it changed her work, her press coverage, and her clientele. Westwood continues her emphasis on eccentricity and subversion and student curators Emma Kadar-Penner and Audrey Chaney, FIT graduate students are co-curators. At The Museum at FIT, Seventh Ave. at 27th St. 212.217.4558. FREE. www.fitnc.edu/museum.
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK

The fashion world’s celebrity photographer gets his due recognition in The Documentary, “Bill Cunningham New York” opening on March 16th through March 29, at the Film Forum. Bill has been seemingly invisible at tony social affairs snapping away at the celebrities. I have also often seen him, camera in tow, on the corner of 57th St. and Fifth Ave. capturing the latest fashionista trend or documenting street fashion for the New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, the Soho News and Details magazine. When he isn’t on foot Bill is a reluctant fashion deity, riding around town on his worn-out bicycle dressed in the blue jacket of workmen in Paris. Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. near Varick. 212.727.8110.
NATIONAL CLEAN OUT YOUR DRAWERS MONTH

The Bottomless Closet urges you to start spring cleaning (and ignite good karma)! Is that shirt collecting dust in the back of your closet, or those pants that you’ve shed too many bounds for, the perfect place to start cleaning out your drawers, too. Accomplish a good deed by donating the clothes to the non-profit Botttomless Closet NYC. Take it from Bethenny Frankel who told Life & Style, “You keep things in your closet that you don’t need. Give them away to someone who can wear them. For more information visit www.bottomlessclosetnyc.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m going to see Bill Cunningham at the Film Forum. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. For Polly Blogs go to my website www.pollytalk.com and in the left hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest including thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.

Riding High on Cultural Venues (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-03-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Put on your riding gear and tally ho off we go with Don Quixote, African masks, Andean tunics, and the Broadway Orchids show just to name a few. Here’s the scoop!!
RE-IMAGINING DON QUIXOTE
The publication of Miguel de Cervantes’s masterpiece (1605,1615) has inspired artists through the ages, from Fragonard and Goya to Dore, Dali, and Picasso. Today’s most renowned creator of artist books, Arion Press, continues that tradition in a new richly illustrated two-volume edition of Don Quixote who dons an old suit of armor as a knight and travels with his skinny horse Rocinante in chivalrous quests of adventure. The 21st century tribute to the literary classic, pictured here, is created by artist Willaim T. Wiley with translator Edith Grossman, and designer publisher Andrew Hoyem. March 10th through April 20th in the galleries of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, 680 Park Ave. at 68th St. 212. 628.0420. Visit www.as-coa.org.
RECONFIGURING THE AFRICAN ICON
“Odes to the Mask by Modern and Contemporary Artists from Three Continents” showcases a unique installation of some 20 whimsical works by artists from Africa, Europe and America, each putting a new spin on traditional African mask. Among the works are amazing sculptural assemblages including Noire et Blanche by Man Ray and sculptural and photographic works by American artist Willie Cole. Highly creative re-imaginings of the iconic form of the African mask includes a podcast episode featuring voices of artists as well as curatorial perspectives on their work on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website: www.metmuseum.org. 1000 Fifth Ave. Through August 21.
MAGNIFICENT ANDEAN TUNICS
Textile, a highly developed art form in ancient times was valued as wealth, and tunics were among the most treasured items. This special exhibition focusing on the Andean tunic features some 30 tunics drawn from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection with loans from The Textile Museum, Washington, D. C. These shirt-like garments occupied a meaningful cultural place for centuries as markers of prosperity, place and status. True works of art the ancient peoples of northwestern South American are renowned today for their great abilities as weavers, dyers and designers of textiles. Through September 18th. Educational programs and screenings of documentaries include the culture, music, and textile history of indigenous Andean peoples. Featured on the Museum’s website www.metmuseum.org.
THE ORCHID SHOW: ON BROADWAY
Don’t miss this special limited-run engagement! Broadway stretches north to the lush tropical galleries of the New York Botanical Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in this dazzling display and Broadway style Orchid Show by Tony award-winning set designer Scott Pask, image-maker Drew Hodges, and Botanical Garden curators. The Orchid Show features thousands of orchids exquisitely arranged to re-create iconic architectural elements from legendary Broadway theaters. Enjoy lively Broadway-style cabaret each weekend, peruse acclaimed caricaturist Al Hirschfeld’s whimsical Broadway drawings and while you’re there at the NYBG garden this weekend learn how to select and care for your orchids. Short trip on Metro North, NYBG, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx. www.nybg.org.
Ta Ta darling!!! Don Quixote is on my priority list; hope to see you at Queen Sophia Spanish Institute. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. You’d enjoy my Blogs go to: www.pollytalk.com and in the left hand column for a direct link click on the Blog of your choice.

CULTURAL EVENTS MELT ICE-COLD DAYS (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-02-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

When she came to town Lenora of Peoria knew the score and checked her ‘to do’ list. Let’s see she mused, “There’s Kalman’s variations, Bling/Bling and old Rembrandt--all such heady stuff, so I’ll take in a fitness session to round out the day.” Only in New York my friends, only in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!
MAIRA KALMAN: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World) In an entirely different venue of original whimsicality The Jewish Museum introduces the first major museum survey of the work of illustrator, author and designer Maira Kalman. Known for her probing imagery, the exhibit features a selection spanning 30 years of 100 original paintings, drawings and sketches shown along with the many ways Kalman’s work has entered contemporary culture—in books, magazines, and on commercial products, from clothing to watches. 1109 Fifth Ave., at 92nd St. 212. 423.3200. www.thejewishmusuem.org.
SET IN STYLE:

The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels “Glitter and Be Gay” sings the opera singer and she may well have been thinking of the bling/bling exhibit of 350 jewels from the famed jeweler on display in clear see through bubbles featuring exquisite jewels through the decades, one stunning piece as early as 1908, plus a section of jewels on loan from famous celebrities and movie stars. Through June at Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum 2 E. 91st St., 212.849.8400. www.cooperhewitt.org.

REMBRANDT and HIS SCHOOL

Two royals, the railroad tycoon Henry Clay Frick and Fritz Lugt, meld their collections of Old Masters and put them on display at the tony Frick Collection. Therein relive the glory days and bask in the Frick’s exquisite period rooms, which give a warm respite from the last chill of winter. Check out the oriental rugs, furnishings and masterpieces and don’t miss the oval room showcasing the newly restored 1658 self-portrait of Rembrandt peering out with a captivating gaze having been cleared of seven layers of varnish. 1 E. 70th St. (between Madison & Fifth) 212.288.0700. www.thefrick.org.
NORMA KAMALI’S WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

Is the perfect ending to a cultural day of museum hopping. Previous events included a Spiritual Entertainer but on March 2nd Magen Banwart and her Fitness Team will start the activities right off Fifth Avenue at Norma Kamali’s boutique with great samplings, healthy refreshments, plus amazing goodies to take home with you! 6-8 p.m., at 11 W. 56 St., tickets @ $28. Oh by the way you can also go shopping. To reserve: lindsayw@normakamali.com.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I can’t wait to see Maira Kalman’s amazing illuminations!!! I’d love to hear from you. Fan mail is always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. My Blogs can be easily accessed at www.pollytalk.com, in the left hand column click on the links that take you directly the Blog of your choice or log into http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

EXPLORATIONS OF A CULTURAL NATURE IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-02-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

“There’s nothing to do,” said Sue, “I’m bored to the core, is there nothing to explore?” Polly the scoop was amazed. “My dear, there’s so much to see and explore, I’m heading to see the Great Upheaval, the Intrepid Museum, Indian Tipis, and then there’s the tale of two Climates. Only in New York my dear, Only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE GREAT UPHEAVAL
When Vasily Kandinsky and Franz Marc formed the group De Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) in late 1911, the artists predicted a watershed in the arts, a Great Upheaval that would radically challenge traditional artistic production. The Great Upheaval at the Guggenheim illuminates the dynamism of this fertile period, and unites and Guggenheim Foundation’s remarkable collections in New York and Venice in order to capture the spirit and dynamism of the European avant-garde. Works include 48 artists including Marc Chagall, Marcel Duchamp, Kandinsky, Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, among other greats of the era. Through June 1, 2011. www.guggenheim.org/publicprograms.
“INSPIRATION & INDUSTRY"
Women have their day of recognition at “American Women on the Home Front,” a new exhibition that shows women’s roles in wartime efforts during WWI and WWII at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, located at Pier 86, 46th Street and 12th Avenue opening Tuesday, March 1st. The depiction of women in the posters shows the changing roles of women between the two wars, from modest participation in WWI to active service in WWII. The exhibit is part of a month of special programs and events at the Intrepid that salutes women in honor of Women’s History Month. Through March 31st . http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/.
TIPI: Heritage of the Great Plains
Celebrates, the TIPI, an architectural form which was the center of Native American Plains family life and remains an essential structure for ceremonial occasions. Enter the TIPI exhibition where three full-size Tipis invite you to experience living with more than 150 objects of Native American Indian Heritage. Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, http://www.brooklynmusem.org/.
A TALE OF TWO CLIMATES
Winter in New York can be tough on anyone as well as their garden---whether it be a community garden, backyard plot, or the New York Botanical Garden. But add a blanket of snow and, oh, how lovely it all becomes when stark whiteness highlights the woodland architecture of the Native Forest. To banish cabin fever take a trip of the tropics by train and visit the refurbished Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for a dose of sultry warmth of the tropics. Caribbean Garden thrills with verdant, lush foliage. Escape from the snow is only 20 minutes from Grand Central on Metro-North. http://www.nybg.org/.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I can’t take much more of the snow so I’m heading to the Caribbean Garden. Fan mail is always appreciated: pollytalk@verizon.net. View my Blogs: www.pollytalk.com and click on the link in the right hand column to fashion, poetry and beauty topics including http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspo.com.

A FASHIONISTA'S HOLIDAY IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-02-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

Atelier D'Ora 1922

This just in…Fashion week in New York is all a buzz at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, COCKTAIL HATS at the Met Opera Gift Shop, Tokyo Fashion Fiesta at FIT, and the Opium Kimono at NEUE. Only in New York, my friends, Only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
CHAPEAU EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!

Ellen Christine Couture Millinery introduces her take on the iconic cocktail hat of the 1950’s reinvented and with brand new bravado in her “Diva Collection” introduced at the Metropolitan Opera House’s gift shop. Her collection fuses history, fashion and high drama in hat concoctions that sit on the pretty heads of models and would be starlets. These hat creations are destined to capture opera patrons’ desire to own something as we say, “je ne sais pas,” something marvelous, so tempting that they are irresistible. Visit her at 99 Van Dam St. 4E by appointment. admin@ellenchristine.com.
HERE WE GO AGAIN, IT’S FASHION WEEK IN NEW YORK

But it’s not the same old song there’s a rash of young, vibrant designers showing their collections in a show-packed and heady pace with trends galore to suit everyone’s fashion fantasies from true to bone classics to minimalism and way out kooky renditions for clubby fashionistas. Quite frankly there’s something for everyone. Art Deco aficionados may remember Sonia Delaunay’s iconic geometric, architectural blocked dresses which perhaps inspired BCBG Max Azria’s collection where the color-blocked dresses had a nice modern verve. Effortless chic turned heads at St. John and the lush life took to luxurious furs and trims and chunky knits. For full coverage of New York Fashion Week. See www.com/fashion.shows-reviews.
TOKYO FASHION FIESTA NEW YORK PART-2

For an exotic, extraordinary fashion sensation go to Cosplay fashion show with costumes inspired by j-subculture, manga, and anime featuring brands, Putumayo, Rion, Visual-kei and more, a hair and makeup demonstration and lecture by Akiko , Yumiko and Fujiko on how to make hair and makeup for Gothic, Lolita, Cosplay, gal fashion style).All this followed by a tea party reception. February 17 at 6 p.m. Katie Murphy Amphitheater at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Seventh Avenue at 27th St. Registration required: email museuminfo@fit.edu. Or call 212.217.4585.
NEUE GALERIE DESIGN SHOP’S OPIUM KIMONO

Very intoxicating this unique kimono gives you an opportunity to own a piece of fashion art crafted with centuries-old modes of craftsmanship. In conjunction with the Neue Galerie’s upcoming exhibition, “Vienna 1900,” the Design Shop has collaborated with renowned textile designer Madeline Weinrib to create an exclusive kimono, tailored from a hand-woven ikat silk/cotton fabric, inspired by an image from Viennese photographer Madame d’Ora, 1922 pictured. Each kimono is a hand-sewn collectible unites Weinrib’s sensibility as a painter with the Opium pattern, an exclusive available in the Museum’s Design Shop. www.neuegalerie.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I covet one of those jaunty little hats by Ellen Christine. Next time you’ll see me wearing one. Fan mail to: www.pollytalk.com and go to www.pollytalk.com and click on any one of the links to my Blogs in the left hand column. My latest posting “A Space of Your Own” appeared in http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeautyedgarcayce.blogspot.com.

GUITARS STRUM CULTURAL TUNES IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-02-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

John Montelone with his Four Seasons Guitars

Guitars strike a musical note at museums this week strumming their stuff from legendary craftsman and artist renditions while the Balenciaga vernissage continues and a Moroccan wedding and fashion week debuts. Only in New York, could such versatility exist. Here’s the scoop!!!
GUITAR HEROES: LEGENDARY CRAFTSMEN FROM ITALY TO NEW YORK Guitar aficionados need only strum their way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where the unprecedented exhibition of approximately 80 musical instruments focuses on the work of the modern-day New York master luthiers; John D’Angelico, James D’Aquisto, and John Monteleone. The works on view have been owned by some of the guitar greats and include masterpieces of Italian and Italian-American construction, showing the place of the modern-day masters in this long tradition. Photo of John Monteleone from the book Archtop Guitars: the Journey from Cremona to New York by Rudy Pensa, photogrpah by Vincent Ricardel. www.metmuseum.org. From Feb. 9th to July 4th. Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street. A second most interesting exhibit is Cezanne’s Card Players, created in 1890s while the artist was living with his family outside Aix-en-Provence.

PICASSO GUITARS 1912-1914

Artistic interpretation of the guitar examines a Moment of radical experimentation in 20-the century art focusing on Picasso’s two Guitar constructions which resembled no artwork ever seen before: Guitar, assembled from cardboard, paper, wire, glue and string in 1912 and a second version made of sheet metal in 1914. Picasso had packed them away together almost a century ago prompts a good reason to visit two of the most iconic works by the artist. The exhibition on view from Feb. 13th to June 6th also brings together some 65 closely related collages, drawings, paintings and photographs. At MOMA, Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. http://www.moma.org/.

BALENCIAGA, SPANISH MASTER

The Queen Sofia Spanish Institute’s Balenciaga exhibit features the work of the great Spanish couturier, Christobal Balenciaga, who was a master of shapely simplicity. A rare opportunity so see several couture pieces never been seen on view to the public, includes a traje de luces (bullfighting costume) and a manton de manila (rose embroidered shawl). 684 Park Ave. between 68th and 69th streets. http://www.queensofiasi.org/.
FASHION WEEK IN NEW YORK

The models are ready to command the runways on Thursday when Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicks off in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. Word has it that Adrienne Vittadini will feature models over 35. Now that’s a switch to reality!!! According to the Style report in amNew York, Diane von Furstenberg is set to decorate the VIP star Lounge with her new home collection. “Whether it will feature wrap-dress pillows remains to be seen.”
2,000 YEARS OF JEWISH LIFE IN MOROCCO:

Celebrates the historic patrimony of Moroccan Jewry and presents the history, art and music of the Jews of Morocco in an ongoing exhibit. The American Sephardi Federation's recent 'Tableau Vivant' a theatrical and musical rendition of a traditional Moroccan Jewish Bridal celebration, 'Noche de Berberisca’ depicted the bride and her bridesmaids in full ceremonial dress in an authentic Moroccan setting, enhanced with Sephardic songs. Listen and view past events at http://www.americansephardifederation.org/. ASF, 15 W. 16th St.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’ll be strumming my old guitar to the tune of the exhibits at the Met. Fan mail: pollytalk@verizon.net. Go http://www.pollytalk.com/ and click on the link to my Blogs in the left hand column, such as amazingartdecowomen.blogspot.com. poetryfromtheheartbypollyguerin.blogspot.com or my latest posting “Healthy Choice...Seeing What's Often Invisible,” on awakenyoursleepingbeautyedgarcayce.blogspot.com

CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT, HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN!!! By Polly Guerin

2011-01-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

Here’s your chance to celebrate again with the Chinese New Year and Lunar events at the MET plus Black History Month then view St. Trinians jolly romps. Only in New York, my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT
The Chinese New Year begins on February 3, the beginning of the lunar year ushering in a period of renewal and longevity. It extends to personal matters and all signs are poised to enjoy greater fulfillment during the year to come. The Chinese mark the occasion with a long list of traditions intended to bring good luck so celebrate new beginnings in the new year and sweep clean your house to usher in a brighter future. Increase your luck and wear something new on New Year’s Day, especially lucky red. Heads up it’s going to be an interesting year ahead.
LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL
Fun for Everyone: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Celebrates Chinese Arts and Culture on Saturday, February 5th from 11a.m.-4 p.m. The Museum rings in the Year of the Rabbit with interactive programs, art-making workshops and lively performances. Afternoon programs include a dramatic lion dance procession up the Museum’s front steps and into the building at 12.15 p.m., a Chinese tea ceremony at 2:15 p.m. and fan and ribbon dances at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. All events are free with museum admission with the exception of the one-hour children’s version of the Peking Opera’s Little Red Riding Hood at 3 p.m., tickets $15. A full-length production of the classic tale at 7 p.m., tickets $30. Complete schedule programs at www.metmuseum.org/lunarnewyear.aspx.
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
The Brooklyn Museum’s Target first Saturday offers FREE programs of art and entertainment each month. February 5th events celebrate Black History Month and the contributions of African Americans during the thirties, forties and fifties with programs inspired by the exhibition “Lorna Simpson: Gathered.” Highlights include 5-7 p.m. MUSIC, the Fat Cat Big Band plays behob and swing. 5:30 pm FILM, The Great Debaters (Denzel Washington) the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, who inspired students to form the school’s first debate team in the segregated South of 1935. 6:30-8:30 p.m. HANDS-ON-ART create a triptych portrait inspired by the work of Lorna Simpson. Museum admission FREE after 5 p.m. Tickets to events on first-come, first served basis. www.brooklynmuseum.org. 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.
RONALD SEARLE, Celebrating a Great Caricaturist
In celebration of Ronald Searle’s 90th birthday year, The Forbes Gallery’s retrospective exhibit “A Lifetime of Drawing” spans the artist's wide-ranging career, from his rare World War II drawings to his successful work as a magazine and book illustrator, to the enormously popular series of “St. Trinian’s” drawings, to his work for movies and businesses and his famous drawings of cats. His wit is infused with compassion and a sense of the ridiculous, but above all there is joy in his work that evokes humor, silliness, pathos and absurdity in everything. At 62 Fifth Ave. www.forbesgalleries.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m going to a Chinese restaurant and celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with friends, just cause it’s reason to Celebrate new beginnings. Fan mail pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and click on any of my Blogs in the left hand column and also click on the link Polly’s feature article on Giulio Gari, which takes you to the Gari homepage.

CELEBRATING CULTURE IN NEW YORK VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-01-24T09:31:00.001-08:00

The Big Apple brings the literary lions out of their dens where they escape to museum openings to warm up their cultural appetite and titillate their sensibilities. Here’s the scoop!!!
SET IN STYLE: THE JEWELRY OF VAN CLEEF & ARPELS A girl’s best friend: All that glitters in jewelry, timepieces and other precious objects by the celebrated jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels opens in a site-specific installation by design celebrity Patrick Jouin at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Showcasing some 300 pieces, time honored creations on view includes Princess Grace of Monaco’s engagement set and a bracelet worn by Marlene Dietrich in the 1950 Hitchcock movie, “Stage Fright.” The exhibit showcases some of the firm’s innovations such as the mystery setting in which the “Zip” necklace unzips into two bracelets. Feb. 18-through June 5th. http://www.cooperhewitt.org/.

CLOISONNE: Chinese Enamels

Breathtaking beauty on display. The Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design, Material Culture presents Cloisonne: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming and Quin Dynasties. The exhibit examines the rare technique in China from the end of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) to the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). Because these objects were intended for ritual use, they have traditional Chinese forms. Indeed, the Lotus flower, a Buddhist symbol of purity, is the motifs most often encountered. Jan. 26th -April 17th. BGC Gallery, 18 W. 86th St. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/.

CEZANNE’S CARD PLAYERS

Get in the game and see how the peasants played cards. Created in the 1890s, while Paul Cezanne was living at his family estate, the Jas de Bouffan, outside of Aix-en-Provence, the artist undertook the series using peasants and laborers as models including card players engaged in the age-old ritual of their game. He also produced a large number of paintings of the individual farm workers in rarely seen preparatory oil sketches, watercolors and drawings in an innovative approach to express the essential character of his subjects. Feb. 9th-May 8th. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. www.metmuseum.org.

THE CHANGING FACE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

The debate as to Shakespeare’s likeness continues, but in 2009, when the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon unveiled a portrait with strong claims to be the only surviving contemporary likeness of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), it created an international stir. The Jacobean-era painting had hung unrecognized for centuries in an Irish country house belonging to the Archbishop Charles Cobbe (1686-1765) goes on view at the Morgan Library & Museum Feb. 4th-May 1st. 36th Street & Madison Avenue. www.morgan.org.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m definitely checking out those glamour jewels at the Van Cleef & Arpels exhibit. Fan mail: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly Blogs: go to www.polltalk.com and click on the left hand column links like, thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com or amazineartdecowomen.blogspot.com etc.

NEW YORK'S CULTURAL TREASURE TROVE (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-01-17T07:06:00.000-08:00

Where else in the world could you enter China’s Forbidden City, see a tale of Love and Fallout, view and bid on international antiques or watch Nordic Oscar Contenders ? Only in New York my friends, only in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!
THE EMPEROR’S PRIVATE PARADISE Take a vicarious trip to Beijing. Showcasing sumptuous murals, furniture, Buddhist icons and decorative arts, almost all of which have never been seen publicity, Treasures From the Forbidden City exhibits 90 exclusive objects that once adored an exclusive compound in the Forbidden City. The exquisite works demonstrate the highest levels of artistic accomplishment in 18th-century China, which are augmented with photo murals of the Qianlong Garden and a video-simulated “walk through” of the Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service (Jaunqinzhai), the first building to be fully restored there. At The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Feb. 1 to May 1, Galleries for Chinese Painting and Calligraphy. http://www.metmuseum.org/.
RADIOACTIVE: A TALE OF LOVE AND FALLOUT
Portrays the romance of Marie and Pierre Curie in artist, Lauren Redniss’ original and engaging fairytale typeface illustrations (example pictured above) that cover the walls on the third floor of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The exhibit pays homage to Nobel Prize-winning couple with 50 illustrations that explore the discovery of radioactivity at the turn of the 20th century through reflecting the dangers inherent in the scientific progress. With a sense of whimsicality the artist also traces the Curie’s love story with all its intrigue, death and drama. A picture book of the same name as the exhibit, published by Harper Collins, is on sale in the Library’s bookstore. Through April 17th, www.exhibitions.nypl.org/radioactive.
THE WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW
Celebrates its 57th year as America’s most distinguished antiques show, featuring exceptional objects by 75 specialists in American, English, European, and Asian fine and decorative arts from antiquity through the the 1960s, all vetted for authenticity. A treasure trove of Southern hospitality is Grandeur Preserved: Masterworks Presented by Historic Charleston Foundation presenting over 50 works from two museum houses as well as highlights from Drayton hall and Middleton Place Foundation, the Charleston Museum and the Gibbes Museum of Art. Show hours 12 p.m.-8 p.m. daily except Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Daily admission $20. http://www.winterantiquesshow.com/.
NORDIC OSCAR CONTENDERS
Catch an exclusive sneak peak of the films chosen by the Nordic countries to compete for the Oscar nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film for 2010 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at Scandinavia House, The Nordic Center in America at 58 Park Ave at 38th St. The feature reel SIMPLE SIMON (rymden finns inga kanslor) runs on Wednesday, Jan 19th at 6:30 pm, $10 ($7 ASF members). Simon, 18, has Asperger’s syndrome. He knows nothing about love, but he has a scientifically perfect plan to find a girlfriend for his brother. http://www.amscan.org/.
TaTa darlings!!! Polly already checked out Love and Fallout, it’s not to be missed. Fan mail to: pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and click the links to my Blogs in the right hand column.

NEW YORK: A GOURMET CULTURAL TREAT (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-01-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

There’s a plethora of treats that only Big Apple venues can create to satisfy the cultural palate of discriminating New Yorkers. From the journals of celebrated historical figures to making connections with museum insiders and indulging La Dolce Vita, the gourmet treats are only in New York, my Friends, Only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE DIARY: THREE CENTURIES OF PRIVATE LIVES
Documents the practice of diary keeping by writers, artists and other celebrated figures who turned to private journals to document their days, sort out creative problems, help them through crises and to comfort them in solitude or pain. Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) relied on her diary to escape stifling work as a schoolteacher; John Steinbeck (1902-1968) struggled to compose The Grapes of Wrath; Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) confided his loneliness and self doubt and Bob Dylan (b. 1941) sketched his way through a concert tour. Other great works on display allow us to observe the birth of such great works of art on view at The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave. at 36th St. www.themorgan.org.
CONNECTIONS SERIES OF ONLINE EPISODES
Get connected at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new online interactive feature that highlights the perspective and insights of Museum staff on works of art in the Metropolitan collection. Participants include curators, conservators, scientists, educators, librarians, digital media producers to name a few. Four episodes available later this month on January 26th feature: THE IDEAL MAN: Curator of prints Nadine Orenstein looks for the ideal man in art from ancient Rome to Hollywood and THE IDEAL WOMAN: educator Joseph Loh looks for the ideal woman throughout the Museum’s collection, from Queen Victoria to Madam X. Connections can be found at www.metmjuseum.org/connections.
FRENCH THRILLER UNREELS AT FIAF
Take an “Elevator to the Gallows,” the Louis Malle’s intriguing 1958 French thriller at the French Institute Alliance Francaise, 22 E. 60th St, tomorrow Tuesday, January 11th, with screenings at 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. It tracks the great Jeanne Moreau and her ex-paratrooper lover (Maurice Ronet) as they attempt to dispose of her banker husband with stunning view of Paris and a jazz score improvised by Miles Davis. Lino Ventura steals the spotlight as the police inspector unraveling the “perfect murder.”Members Free, purchase tickets $10. www.FIAF.org.
EATALY, GOURMET EATS ITALIAN STYLE
Welcome to EATALY where the gastronomic delights of dining al fresco inside the sprawling 200 Fifth Avenue location offers a varied menu to suit a hasty lunchtime treat to a gourmet meal. Five different locations include La Piazza, a stand up food and drinks bar serving tastings of salami, cheeses and raw bar; Il Pesce featuring Dave Pasternack’s take on Italian seafood; Le Verdure serves Italian style vegetable dishes and at La Pizza & La Pasta you can have Rossopomodoro pizza imported directly from Napoli. Manzo is the formal dining experience. Reserve: 212.229.2560, www.eataly.com.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I plan to check out those private journals at the Morgan, get connected at the Met, see a thriller and eat Italian style. Fan Mail to pollytalk@verizon.net. For Polly’s Blog links go to: www.pollytalk.com.

THE NEW YEAR ROARS IN WITH CULTURAL PURSUITS (c) By Polly Guerin

2011-01-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

It’s time to start the New Year, time to try something new, to broaden the mind, to go somewhere you’ve never gone before. It’s time to indulge your curiosity to open new doors to creativity and it’s time to go antiquing and museum hopping. Here’s the scoop!!!

THE WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW

Own a part of history!! The Winter Antiques Show celebrates its 57th year as America’s most distinguished antiques show, featuring exceptional objects exhibited by 75 specialists in American, English, European and Asian fine and decorative arts from antiquity through the 1960’s, all vetted for authenticity. Over 50 works from Historic Charleston Foundations museum houses include highlights from the plantations Drayton Hall and Middleton Place. At the Park Avenue Armory, 67th St. & Park Ave. January 21-30. Daily Admission $20. www.winterantiqueshow.com for details.
MANNERISM and MODERNISM

The Kasper Collection of Drawings and Photographs will be on view at the Morgan Library & Museum thru May 1. Why go? The art collection assembled for its distinctive character and superb quality offers visitors a rare opportunity to see old masters, modern and contemporary works on paper and photography assembled by American Fashion designer Herbert Kasper—and is a testament to both Kasper’s personal taste and his desire to build a truly unique collection. Pictured: Hans Hoffman: An Affenpinscher, 1580, watercolor and gouache on vellum. Do indulge yourself and have the Three Martini Lunch in the dining room. The address: 225 Madison Ave., at 36th St., 212.685.0008 http://www.themorgan.org/.

RENAISSANCE MASTERPIECE

Take a time travel trip to view the new installation of the works of Filippino Lippi (1457-1504) one of the greatest artists of 15th-century Florence. To celebrate the restoration, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is mounting Lippi’s Madonna and Child. A test cleaning revealed that beneath a thick, discolored varnish there was a beautifully preserved, richly colored painting. So breathtaking is the Old master that the pictures that along a number of objects from the Museum’s permanent collection, that it appears like a new acquisition. www.metmuseum.org. 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd St.

ANDY WARHOL: MOTION PICTURES

Focuses on the artist’s lifelong fascination with the cult of celebrity, comprising a visual almanac of the 1960’s downtown scene. Included in the exhibition are such Warhol “Superstars” as Edie Sedgwick, Baby Jane Holzer, poet Allen Ginsberg, author Susan Sontag, among others. The artist’s cinematic portraits and non-narrative, silent, and black-and-white films include Sleep, Eat, Blow Job and Kiss projected on the gallery walls at large scale, some measuring seven feet high and nearly nine feet wide. At MOMA, 11 W. 53rd St., through March 21. www.moma.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! You can’t blame a gal for wanting to improve her mind. Kasper’s collection really fascinates…so I’ll see you there and everywhere else. Fan Mail: pollytalk@verizon.net. To see Polly Blogs go to my website www.pollytalk.com and click on the link to Blogs in the right hand column.

HISTORIC NEW YORK'S OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAY (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-12-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

Have yourself a very merry old-fashioned holiday in historic New York where celebrations abound in museum settings and the streets sparkle with snowflake lights and crimson ribbons. Only in New York, my friends. Only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Join in the holiday spirit and marvel at the annual display of Charles Dickens's holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, on view through January 9, 2011 at the Morgan Library & Museum. The manuscript, a fascinating jumble of changes, corrections, additions, deletions, and scribble reveals that Dickens wrote it in a mere six weeks because he needed the money (Mrs. Dickens was pregnant again). The initial 6,000 copies went on sale on December 19, 1843 and sold out, largely because of the hand-colored drawings by a famous illustrator, John Leech. But then the story caught on, and the book went through 24 editions in its original form. The Morgan presents a new concert version of the Dickens’s beloved classic with a virtuoso cast of five actors and musicians who bring Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformative journey to the living stage. Friday December 17th, 7:30 p.m., 225 Madison Ave. (35th St.) www.themorgan.org.
CHRISTMAS COMES TO OLD NEW YORK

Do you yearn to turn back the clock and experience the good old days? Then step into the Merchant’s House Museum (built in 1832) where recreated scenes of holiday preparations reveal old-time holiday customs in a time-capsule setting of the prosperous Tredwell family house, unchanged for nearly a century. Christmas in New York: Tours by Candlelight, Fri Dec. 17 6-9pm, Sat. & Sun. 4-8pm. The house is decked out in holiday decorations, the rooms light by flickering candlelight and costumed actors relate the Christmas tradition of mid-19th century New York. ($20, $15 children) 29 E. Fourth St. (between Lafayette & Bowery) Reservations required: 212.777.1089. www.merchantshousemusem.org.

A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES CONCERT

A thousand starry lights envelope the stage at The Irish Repertory Theatre in the reinvention of Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.” The iconic piece, starring both Irish Repertory favorites and Broadway veterans, features both traditional and contemporary Christmas music woven with the classic story of the legendary snowy Christmas Day in Wales. Adapted and directed by Charlotte Moore, music by John Bell. Through Jan 2, 2011. Performances at 132 W. 22nd St. Wed.-Sat. @ 8pm. Matinees Wed.,Sat., Sun. @ 3pm. Ticket info: 212.727.2737. www.irishrep.org.

THE YULE LOG & Scandinavian Customs

Norway is the birthplace of the Yule log. The word “Yule” came from the Norse word hweol, meaning wheel. Before Christmas, many Norwegians count down the days with their advent calendars. On Christmas Eve, after a goose dinner, Danish families light candles decorating the Christmas tree. After dancing and singing around the tree, the family exchanges gifts. In Finland, Christmas festivities are receded by a visit to the sauna, after which everyone dresses in clean clothes in preparation for the Christmas dinner. The Christmas tree is set up on Christmas Eve and decorated with ap0ples, candies, paper flags, cotton and tinsel.
Ta Ta, darlings!!! I’m wishing you all the warmth of home and love of family and friends, and all the deepest joys of a very Merry Christmas and a Sensational New Year. There’s so much to celebrate. Fan mail always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Or go to www.pollytalk.com and link to one of my Blogs.

NEW YORK'S CRAFTS and CULTURE GIFT IDEAS

2010-12-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

The weather outside is frightful but I am so delightful to know that even if it may snow there’s crafts and culture, and tony books in New York to warm up the days with sure fire events. Only in New York, my friends. Only in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!

CLAY FESTIVAL 5

It’s the holiday season and Clay Festival celebrates its fifth year by showcasing the works of twenty of New York’s talented ceramic artists on Saturday, December 18th from 12 to 7pm at St. Anthony’s Church, Houston & Sullivan Streets in Soho. Peter Davis, the ceramic artist who created Clay Festival, invites you to stop by to browse for gifts and discover a beautiful and rare selection of handmade bowls, mugs, plates, platters, jewelry, sculpture, tiles, teapots ‘n cups, covered jars, cat and dog bowls and many other unique stocking stuffers. Get into the holiday spirit, mingle and meet the artists and find some unique last minute shopping ideas. A tasty selection of baked goods is also available. No entrance fee. Wheelchair accessible, elevator on Houston St. www.clayfestivalnyc.blogspot.com.

PERFORMANCE 9:

Allora & Calzadilla Talking about upside down art there’s a unique experience at MOMA. The Museum of Modern Art’s Performance Exhibition series continues with artist duo Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, who bring Stop, Repair, Prepare: variations on Ode to Joy for a Prepared Piano (2008) to the Museum’s Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium for performances throughout the day. For each 30-minute performance, the pianist standing in a hole carved in the center of an early 20th century Bechstein piano, will lean over the piano’s keyboard, playing upside down and backward while moving the instrument around the Atrium. These performances will take place hourly beginning at 11:30 a.m. each day through January 10, 2011. MOMA, 11W. 53rd St. www.moma.org.

JOSEPH URBAN:

The World as Theater Books are among my favorite things but who was Joseph Urban? This Vienna-born architect and set designer, renowned in the 1930s gets his due recognition in John Loring’s magnificent book, “Joseph Urban,” just published in full color by Abrams Books. The book coincides with the exhibition of Urban’s astonishing career, at the RBML, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Columbia University. The exhibition, continuing through Dec. 23, contains 152 pieces that cover Urban’s drawings. He prolifically created sets for Ziegfeld Follies, the New York and Boston operas and William R. Hearst’s Cosmopolitan Pictures. His architectural works include the New School of Social Research. At the Butler Library, 6th floor east, 535 W. 114 St. Free, open to the public. Check hours of operation: 212.854.5590. Email: rbml@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.

CECIL BEATON, The Art of the Scrapbook

Now, here’s a blockbuster book idea. Assouline, a French publisher that produces books for luxury gift-giving is over the top with this $250 Cecil Beaton book that reproduces for the first time the iconic photographer’s visual diaries. Only in New York, my friends, only in New York!!! You can visit Assouline’s tony store in the mezzanine of The Plaza Hotel or better yet check out their original offerings at www.assouline.com. For a mere $50 you can buy “Fifty Years of Fantasy Gifts from the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalogue.”
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m heading way up town to take in Joseph Urban’s incredible works, and then I’ll return midtown to visit the Bryant Park skating ring. Fan mail always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and scroll over to the left hand column list of Polly’s Blogs; just click the one of your choice and Voila!!! The link takes you there. Enjoy!

A FASHIONABLE HOLIDAY NEW YORK STYLE (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-11-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

Fashion aficionados need go no further than stylish New York venues to view historical designer shows, hear the fashion experts reveal the legendary stories and plan next year’s celebrations. Only in New York, my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

BALENCIAGA: SPANISH MASTER
Spanish-born Spanish couturier Cristobal Balenciaga’s daring innovations influenced by royal costumes , regional dress, and the Spanish flair for flamenco dance line up for review on a mannequin exhibit at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, through February 19, 2011, at 540Park Ave. Pictured left: Balenciaga's sculpture-like evening ensmble. Curated by Hamish Bowles, Vogue’s European editor at large, many of the pieces have their inspiration from historical royal costumes, Spanish Art and the church while another gallery exhibits the more exuberant side of Spain that inspired Balenciaga, regional design and costumes of the bullfight. Tickets $15. 212.628.0420. www.queensofiaspanishinstitute.org.
THE FASHION INSITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Join Hamish Bowles, curator of the exhibition Balenciaga, Spanish Master for an illustrated lecture about the impact on legendary designer Cristobal Balenciaga of Spain’s cultural and religious history, regional costumes, rich dance traditions, and its great artists, as well as the power and the splendor of the bullfight. Dec. 2, 6-8 pm. Reservations required. Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, 27th St.& 7th Ave.212.217.5970. www.fitnyc.edu.
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN TRIBUTE
New Year Fashion is retrospective. Next spring the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will stage a comprehensive show celebrating Alexander McQueen’s work over two decades. Andrew Bolton, who is spearheading the exhibit said, “McQueen had such a singular voice and he was a remarkable technician.” Themes will reflect the designer’s fascination with Romantic Gothic, Romantic Exoticism and The Savage Mind. A Cabinet of Curiosities will feature many of the designer’s outlandish innovations. Opens May 4, 2011. www.metmuesum.org.
LEONARDO’S LAST SUPPER
Be among the first to see the American premiere of visionary artist and filmmaker Peter Greenaway’s multimedia interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper at the Park Avenue Armory, 67th St. Visitors are immersed in a series of audio-visual environments, starting with a full-scale replica of the dome of Milan’s Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie to Greenaway’s meticulously detailed facsimile of The Last Supper, and finally to an ebullient celebration of the Venetian Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese. $15 general admission, $12 Members, Students,Seniors. Opens Dec. 3 through Jan. 6, 2011.Tickets are required for all programs. www.armoryonpark.org or call 212.933.5812

Ta Ta darlings!!! Balenciaga leads my fashion scoops this week and I’m also off to hear Hamish Bowles at FIT. Please join me. Fan mail always welcome pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and scroll over to the left hand column list of Polly’s Blogs; just click the one of your choice and Voila!! The link takes you there. Enjoy!!!

Celebrating The Holiday Season in New York (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-11-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

I’ll take Manhattan where Home Sweet Home is in its final week; the Holiday train shows up in the Bronx and the yuletide Christmas tree debuts at the MET, Picasso’s guitar sculptures at MOMA. Here’s the Scoop!!!

HOME SWEET HOME

The Scandinavian American Theater Company’s riveting drama may be about a dinner for a Danish comrade recently returned from Iraq, but if truth be told, the play makes Danish sound like an American tragedy. A pleasant evening turns into a fatal encounter when the three characters, Kim and his girlfriend Iben welcome Carsten, recently returned from service in Iraq to their new home for dinner only to reveal the traumatic experience of war in riveting consequences against a film backup that effectively augments Carsten’s anguish. At 9th Space, PS122, corner of 1st and 9th St: Mon./Tue. +Fri. at 7:30 pm, Sat. Nov. 27 at 4:30+7:30 pm, Sunday Nov. 28 at 4:30 pm. Purchase tickets online at: www.9thspace.org or call 212.352.3101.
HOLIDAY TRAIN SHOW

Winds its way through The New York Botanical Garden through Jan.9th. Wrapped in the glow of twinkling lights, model trains pave their way through an enchanted world featuring replicas of more than 140 New York landmarks, including this year’s new addition: JFK Airport’s complete with planes. Catch “The Little Train That Could” puppet show beginning Nov. 30th, and warm up indoors and decorate gingersnaps at Gingerbread Adventure. Bronx River Parkway at Fordham road. Metro North Harlem line to NYBG. For tickets: http://www.nybg.org/hts/#yourvisit.
CHRISTMAS TREE AND NEAPOLITAN BAROQUE CRECHE

A long-standing yuletide tradition in New York the Christmas tree at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Medieval Sculpture Hall is on view from November 23, 2010 through January 6, 2011. The brightly lit, 20-foot blue spruce reflects the spirit of the holiday season with a collection of 18th-century Neapolitan angels and cherubs that hover among its boughs with groups of realistic crèche figures flanking the Nativity scene at its base. Christmas music accompanies the daily lighting ceremonies: Tues./Wed./Thurs/Sun at 4:30 pm; and Fri+Sat. at 4:30, 5:30+6:30 pm. www.metmusuem.org.
PICASSO: GUITARS 1912-1914

Focuses on Pablo Picasso’s cardboard and sheet-metal Guitar sculptures bringing together 70 closely connected collages, constructions, drawings, mixed-media paintings, and photographs assembled from over 30 public and private collections worldwide. The exhibition takes as its point of departure Picasso’s first Guitar construction, a sculpture made in 1912. The artist’s silent instrument resembled no sculpture that had ever been seen before as its creation coincided with Picasso’s embrace of a wide range of what were then unconventional materials. February 13-June 6, 2011. At The Museum of Modern Art, MOMA, 11 W. 53rd St. www.moma.org.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! The Christmas tree at the MET is a “must” on my holiday list. Hope to see you there at one of the lighting ceremonies. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs can be accessed at www.pollytalk.com, simply click on the blog link of your choice in the right hand column.

The Big Apple's Holiday Pot Pourri (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-11-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

Cultural adventures in the fast lane of the Big Apple present a cornucopia of venues to titillate your holiday meanderings from fashion exhibitions to art opens and a Home Sweet Home play. It’s a pot pourri. Here’s the scoop!!!

HIS & HERS The Male/Female Divide THE MUSEUM AT FIT’S new exhibit explores the changing perceptions of “masculine” and ‘feminine” dress including so-called unisex and androgynous dress with side-by-side comparisons of men’s and women’s clothing highlighting their differences and similarities. A pinstriped navy blue woman’s pantsuit designed by Yves Saint Laurent, will be shown alongside a Saint Laurent man’s suit in velvet. While skirts are generally regarded as “feminine” garments in Western culture, garments such as kilts and sarongs are common attire for men in other parts of the world. Opens Nov. 30th, Seventh Ave. at 27th St. www.fitnyc.edu. Due to the popularity of “Japan Fashion Now” the exhibition has been extended through April 2, 2011.
HOME SWEET HOME: Scandinavian American Theater Company Riveting Performance!!! A pleasant reunion becomes a fatal evening in Andreas Garfield’s play, a timely commentary on a welcome home dinner. Inspired by interviews with Danish soldiers “Home Sweet Home” reveals the traumatic experience of war and the unsympathetic indifference of home as refracted through a Nordic country. English translation by Lisa Pettersson. To order tickets go to www.satcnyc.org. or call 212.352.3101. Evenings at 7:30 pm, Sat+Sun at 4:30 pm. Fri. Nov. 19th at 7:30+10 pm. Run ends Nov. 28.
THE HANUKKAH PROJECT

Three major sculptural installations related to Hanukkah are on view at the contemporary gallery at The Jewish Museum, Nov. 19th to Jan. 30, 2011. View works such as Alice Aycock’s Greased Lightning, a motorized kinetic sculpture featuring an oversized moving dreidel, the small, inscribed top that children play with during the Hanukkah holiday which begins at sundown on Wed ./Dec. 1 and continues until sundown on Thurs./Dec. 9th. These works are presented in conjunction with Daniel Libeskind’s bold and dramatic installation featuring 40 Hanukkah lamps. www.thejeweishmuseum.org/hanukkah2010.

ON LINE, DRAWING THROUGH THE 20TH CENTURY

Explores the radical transformation of the medium of drawing through the last century, a period when numerous artists critically examined the traditional concepts of drawing and expanded the medium’s definition in relation to gesture and form. Works of a wide range of artists brings together over 300 pieces that connect drawing to selections of painting sculpture, photography, film and dance. On view from Nov. 21, through Feb. 7, 2011. In conjunction with On Line, five choreographers and performers will stage works with the Museum in January 2011 including Trisha Brown, Ralph Lemon, Marie Cool, Fabio Balducci and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. At MOMA, 11 w. 53 St. http://www.moma.org/.

Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to His & Hers at The Museum at FIT with my friend Dickie who will wear a kilt and I’ll don the pants. Fan mail always welcome pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and scroll over to the left hand column list of Polly’s Blogs, just click the one of your choice and Voila the link takes you there. Enjoy!!!

Photo Opportunities Focus in the Big Apple (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-11-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

Photographic treasures by masters of the 20th Century art form headline openings this week while Art for Science’s Sake peaks into dioramas and Material Poetry celebrates works by Irish artists. Only in New York my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

NORMAN ROCKWELL
"Behind the Camera!" Little known fact, beginning in the late 1930s, Norman Rockwell adopted photography as a tool to bring his illustration ideas to life. Working as a director, Rockwell staged his photographs, orchestrating every detail. Behind the Camera presents these photographs alongside his paintings, drawings, and related tear sheets to offer a look at the artist’s working process. Pictured here "Tatoo Artist." Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, just hop on the train to the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway. Opens November 19th. www.brooklynmusum.org.
THREE MASTER PHOTOGRAPHERS
Three giants of 20th century photography---Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen and Paul Strand---share the spotlight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, opening November 10th. The diverse and groundbreaking work of these artists will be revealed through a presentation of 115 photographs drawn entirely from the Museum’s collection. On view will be many of the greatest photographic portraits including Stieglitz’s famous portrait of Georgia O’Keeffe. Steichen rivaled the scale, color and individuality of painting in works such as The Pond—Moonrise (1904). Strand incorporated the new language of geometric abstraction into his interest in photographing street life and machine culture. 1000 Fifth Ave. www.metmuseum.org.
ART FOR SCIENCE’S SAKE
The natural history diorama of the early 20th century continues to regale children and their parents at many museum institutions, but leave it to Kevin Avery, associate curator in the Dept. of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Met will shed light on the subject. In a review and illuminated art he will discuss how these dioramas evolved from traditions of both scientific and art entertainment reach back to the late 18th century. FREE Nov. 9th, 6pm. Sponsored by the Metropolitan Chapter of The Victorian Society in America, at The New York New Church, 114E. 35th St. events@metrovsa.org.
MATERIAL POETRY
Irish Eyes Are Smiling at the American Irish Historical Society where an exhibition of Contemporary Objects from Ireland highlights the best of the new wave of design and craft emerging from Ireland. International curator, Brian Kennedy, focuses on Irish makers whose works are infused with a poetic simplicity and a material honesty. Influenced by ancient Irish architectural forms and the majestic Irish landscape the artistic works reveal a deep rooted respect for techniques and a true understanding and love of material in ceramics, furniture, jewelry, glass and wood. At 991 Fifth Ave. Contact: tracy@causeycontemporary.com

Ta Ta darlings!!! Love those Rockwell’s. I can’t wait to see the artist’s photo/painting technique. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net and visit www.pollytalk.com and select Polly’s Blogs in the right hand column.

Cultural Whirlwind Sweeps Into Town (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-11-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

As the chill of winter sweeps into town the whirlwind of cultural events in the Big Apple invites you to hunker down indoors. On the scene: Global Artists, an Ancient Egyptian General, the Inventor of Basketball and Weimar Cinema, but bundle up outdoors. Here’s the scoop!!!

ARTIST TALK: KRISTAPS GULBIS >>>>
As we welcome this year’s group of ArtsLink Fellows to their residencies in the US, they return the favor by giving us a glimpse into their own working methods and the contemporary art scenes in their home countries. Kristaps Gulbis, a Latvian artist and sculptor, (photo above) will discuss his public art practices and recent international projects and tell us about his residency experience at LMCC’s New Arts Center at Governor’s Island where the artist maintains a studio at Building 110 through Nov. 17th. The Artist’s Talk, Free and open to the takes place Thursday, Nov. 4th, 6-8 pm, at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, 125 Maiden Lane, 2nd floor, followed by wine reception.
HAREMHAB, THE GENERAL WHO BECAME KING
One of the most fascinating pharaohs of ancient Egypt, Haremhab was a strong leader in a time of political and religious transition. As commander-in-chief of Tutankhamun’s army, he oversaw important military campaigns and later as the last King of Dynasty 18, he instituted laws that secured the rights of civilians and curbed abuses perpetrated by powerful groups. Haremhab is the inaugural presentation in a series of exhibitions that will spotlight masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Egyptian art. 1000 Fifth Ave. Opens Nov. 16th.http://www.metmuseum.org.
BASKET BALL INVENTOR
“Sotheby’s to Sell the Rules that invented the game of Basketball.” Sports enthusiasts and historians check this out. The game “Basket Ball” was the invention of a 30-year old physical educator teacher named James Naismith, who in December 1891 posted a two-page typed document comprising a set of 13 rules to a new, game at a Springfield, Mass. YMCA gym to entertain a restless class of students during the winter months. The two-page typescript started it all with more than an estimated 450 million playing Basketball today. The document on view at Sotheby’s, 72nd St. & York Ave. At auction Dec. 10th it is estimated to bring more than $2 million.
WEIMAR CINEMAS, 1919-1933
MOMA presents the most extensive exhibition of Weimar cinema ever mounted in the United State. Daydreams and Nightmares, Nov. 27-March 7, 2011 surveys the extraordinary fertile and influential period in German filmmaking between the two world wars. The 4-month series includes over 80 films, many rare—a mix of classic films and many motion pictures unseen since the 1930s opens with “Into the Blue” (1929). A selection of original Weimar movie posters and photographs augment the film presentations at The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater, 11 W. 53 St., www.moma.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! By the way if you haven’t seen the movie, “Inside Job,” DO! This riveting movie tells the story of the economic collapse of 2008 with interviews with key players who perpetrated the debacle. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. For a list of Polly’s Blogs go to: www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column find the link to the Blog of your choice.

Innovative Vernissages For October's End (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-10-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Andy Warhol's Pop Art
Sculptural installations, impressionist and modern art, innovative furniture…all this and a square meal makes October’s last week a treasure trove for museum hopping and auction previews. Here’s the Scoop!!!

KATRIN SIGURDARDOTTIR AT THE MET This Icelandic artist, known for her detailed renditions of places, both real and fictional often incorporates an element of surprise, draws the viewer into a fantasy experience. Entitled Boiseries, the installations are full-scale renditions of 18th-Century French rooms preserved at the Met. Visitors are invited to walk among panels based on the Hotel de Cabris period room and looking through surveillance mirrors, they will be able to see inside the rooms Katrin has created with replica furniture based on the Hotel de Crillon period room in the Met’s Wrightsman Galleries. Simultaneously on exhibit is Innovative Furniture by American designer Charles Rohlfs, which combines elements of Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. Recently opened. www.metmuseum.org.
SOTHEBY’S IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART
Auction previews offer a superb opportunity to see first hand art works, not in museums, from an early painting by Eugene Boudin from 1868 to a Pablo Picasso canvas from 1970s. The preview prior to the autumn evening sale Nov. 2, also includes important works; Amedeo Modigliani’s nude, Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romain), estimated in excess of $40 million and Le Bassin aux Nympheas, a spectacular canvas from Claude Monet’s iconic water lilies series, estimated $20/30 million and Andy Warhol’s Coco-Cola, an icon of the Pop Art movement, estimated at $20/25 million, among others. On view starting Oct. 19th. York Avenue at 72nd, www.sothebys.com.
SQUARE MEAL
I don’t often recommend restaurants, but finding a nice place to have lunch without breaking your budget is of prime concern when one is uptown museum and gallery hopping. One such place is SQUARE MEAL, at 30 E. 92nd St. just off Madison Ave. This restaurant’s weekly lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11 to 2:30 pm has reasonable price points on its rather substantial and original menu. I ordered $10 omelet with twice-baked potato and toasted cornbread and my companion took the Square Meal burger (5 oz.) with oven fries and homemade ketchup $14. Check out the menu at www.squaremealnyc.com.
THE GREAT CRASH OF 1929
This unique annual guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan commemorates the Great Crash of 1929, the Panic of 1907 stock market collapse, and delves into the political, financial, real estate and architectural history of Wall street and New York City. The tour shows that despite such adversities as the Great Fires of 1776 and 1835, and the financial panics and the 9/11/01 terrorist attach and the financial crisis of 2008, New York and Wall Street have always recovered their position as the world’s financial capital. Tour meets at the Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., Oct. 30th, 1 to 4 pm. Cost: $15. Email lseeger@moaf.org or call 212-908-4110.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! I think I’ll check out the preview art works at Sotheby’s. Fan mail always welcome at: pollytalk@verizon.net. Do look at Polly’s Blogs. Go to www.pollytalk.com and click on the Blog of your choice in the right hand column.

Manhattan's Rich Cultural Diversity (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-10-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Tomaselli's Bird Collage>>>>>>>>

I’ll take Manhattan and all its cultural diversity from art and magic to looking back on life in Morocco and Porgy & Bess’ anniversary there are enough venues galore to keep score and improve one’s mind. Only in New York, my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

HOUDINI: ART and MAGIC Examines the renowned magician and daring escape artist’s life through 163 objects, including 26 recent works of art inspired by Houdini. His gripping theatrical presentations and heart-stopping outdoor spectacles attracted unprecedented crowds, and his talent for self- promotion and provocation captured headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. Born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary, Houdini (1874-1926) was the son of a rabbi who against all odds became an international performer. A recreation of the famous Water Torture Cell is included in the exhibition. Opens Oct. 26, at the Jewish Museum, Fifth Ave. at 92nd St. www.thejewishmuseum.org.

FRED TOMASELLI’S SOLO SHOW Focuses on the trajectory of Tomaselli’s career, from works from the late 1980s to the present including 40 collages and paintings created specifically for the Brooklyn Museum’s presentation. Tomaselli’s work reveals a uniquely American vision. He creates richly decorated surfaces that are composed of hundreds of found objects that move with psychedelic precision in images that amass prescription pills, along with images of birds, plants, flowers and anatomical illustrations. Two new captivating artworks, Night Music for Raptors and Starling, are large-scale painting collages. The former represents an owl composed of hundreds of cut-out eyes. Through Jan. 2, 2011. www.brooklynmuseum.org.

LOOKING BACK: JEWISH LIFE IN MOROCCO This engaging xhibition enlightens the visitor on the beautiful history and culture of the Jewish people and Jewish life, as it once was in Morocco with an overview demonstrating how Jewish communities lived among, and were influenced by, various peoples including the Berbers, the Spanish, the Arabs and the French. Artistically designed textual displays, documents, lithographs and engravings, historic photos, replications of historic documents demonstrate the life of the Jews living throughout this North African country. At the American Sephardi Federation, 15 West 16th St., part of an ongoing year-long program. www.americansephardifederation.org.

THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF PORGY AND BESS Stars from some of the world’s premiere opera companies will perform highlights of the celebrated 1935 opera. Incorporating a wealth of blues and jazz idioms, George Gershwin conceived of Porgy & Bess as an “American folk opera.” He considered it his finest work, but it was not widely accepted as part of the standard opera repertoire until a triumphant 1976 production, long after his death. On October 28 at 7pm, Elebash Recital Hall, The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave. (at 34th St.) Tickets phone: 212.868.4444, $24 and $18.
Ta my darlings!!! Life in Morocco, Houdini, Porgy and Bess, Tomaselli…all this in one week, a rich cultural diversity. Fan mail is always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net and for Polly’s Blogs go to www.pollytalk.,com and just click on the link of the Blog of your choice at right on the home page.

A MUSUEM RESTORATION, HEROES AND PURE BEAUTY (C) By Polly Guerin

2010-10-11T09:05:00.001-07:00

The Morgan Library & Museum Rotunda
The plethora of cultural events in the Big Apple leaves one no other choice than to set priorities to attend the rich choice of October openings. Only in New York, my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

THE MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM Celebrates with a state-of-the-art face-lift of the J. P. Morgan landmark McKim, Mead and White building at Madison Avenue and 36th Street. Considered one of New York’s great architectural treasures, it underwent a $4.5 million restoration, the first major interior restoration of the architectural gem since its construction in 1906. Revitalized historic spaces of the Morgan include the library’s main rotunda, (photo by Graham Haber)which features figures from literature while the office of Morgan’s original librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, includes the earliest works in the Morgan collection. The public opening/celebration on Oct.30th will feature lecture, guided tours and musical performances. www.themorgan.org.
HEROES: MORTALS AND MYTHS IN ANCIENT GREECE
While Achilles, Odysseus and Helen continue to fire the popular imagination, the very word ‘hero’ has a different meaning in society today than it did in an ancient Greek world when people treasured their Greek heroes and heroines. This rare exhibition casts light on the continuing human need for heroes today and brings together about 100 exceptional artworks focusing on the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic period ranging from large-scale architectural sculptures to beautifully decorated pottery and miniature carved gemstones. At the Onassis Cultural Center, entrance on 51st St. between 5th and Madison Avenues, FREE Admission. On view: Mon.-Sat. 10 am-6pm.
JOHN BALDESSARI’S PURE BEAUTY
Widely renowned as a pioneer of conceptual art, American artist, John Baldessari, one of the most influential contemporary artists of the last 50 years, steps up to the limelight in an exhibition of his innovative work, as well as his videos, artist’s books, and large-scale installations. In his ground-breaking work of the late 1960s, he challenged historically accepted rules of how to make art turning towards photographic images, transferring the snapshots he took of banal, Southern Californian locales onto his canvases and combined these images with words and painted text. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through January 2011 at 1000 Fifth Avenue. www.metmuseum.org.
WOMEN POP ARTISTS: SEDUCTIVE SUBVERSIVE
While men have dominated the pop art scene, women pop artists have their due, at the Brooklyn Museum, where 50 works of 25 female artists exhibit their collages, photorealist paintings, psychedelic works and sculptures. Artist on display include familiar pop artists such as Marisol, Niki de Saint Phalle, Yayoi Kusama and an opportunity to discover iconic pop artists’ works including Martha Rosler’s photomontage “Vacuuming Pop Art.” Through Jan. 9, 2011. www.brooklynmusuem.org. 200 Eastern Parkway.

Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m determined to see Women Pop Artists, yet Pure Beauty is a ‘must see.’ Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Take a minute, please do, and check out my blog with 45 amazing women: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com. Which was formerly called amazingartdecowomen.blogspot.com.

VISUAL PLEASURES: The New York Art Scene (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-09-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

The art scene gratifies the senses on a visual level from the Old Masters to modern interpretations and abstract expressionism as only New York’s cultural institutions can deliver. Here’s the scoop!!!

MIRO The Dutch Interiors

Observe how an artist is inspired. Miro’s modernistic paintings are hung alongside the Dutch Golden Age paintings that inspired them. Pictured left: The Lute Player, by Hendrick Sorgh, Dutch, 1661 and above, Joan Miro's, Dutch Interior, 1928. This encounter between the Dutch Masters and Miro, one of the most esteemed advent-garde artists of the 20th century, is a rare opportunity to see how Miro moved from representational sources to his own language. Concurrently Jan Gossart’s Renaissance: Man, Myth, And Sensual Pleasures is the pivotal Old Master who redirected the course of early Flemish painting. Both exhibits through Jan. 17, 2011. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave., www.metmuseum.org.
DIVINE COMEDY

Sotheby’s investigates the comedic side of art from ancient times to today through the lens of Dante’s epic poem, open to the public (FREE). Visitors to the exhibition will travel through Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise, exploring how for centuries artists have harnessed the power of humor in their work with an undercurrent of wit and satire. The Inferno, for example, will highlight the darker, more horrific side of humor. Featured artists include Salvador Dali, Any Warhol, Jeff Koons, Pieter Brueghel, and Auguste Rodin. Through Oct. 19th. At Sotheby’s New York, 1334York Ave. at 71st St., www.Sothebys.com. This exhibit is a lead in to the New York Comedy Festival which runs from 3-7 Nov. 2010. Tel: 212.606.7000.
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

A pivotal moment in modern art at MOMA celebrates the achievements of a generation that catapulted New York City to the center of the international art world sixty years ago. The exhibit traces the development of abstract expressionism from its beginnings in the 1940s to its seasoned maturity in the 1960s. 250 works on display cross a variety of mediums, masterpieces including artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning and Robert Motherwell, as well as works of art that have not been seen together for half a century. MOMA 11 W. 53rd St., www.moma.org.
BEYOND BORDERS: Fine Art from Canada

An exhibition of innovative Canadian art is taking place at the Agora Gallery in Chelsea. The works span the range of artistic expression, with artists imparting, with their unique styles, little pieces of the Canadian spirit. Playful, humorous, saturated with color, and presented in unique fashion, this is an exhibition to delight the senses. Opening reception, Oct. 7, 6PM. On view through Oct. 26. 530 West 25th St., 212.226.4406.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! You can’t blame a gal for improving her mind and pleasing her visual senses. Fan mail always welcome www.pollytalk.com. Please check out Polly’s Blog and google: http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com, which has been renamed http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com/.

Mixed Media Attractions in the Big Apple (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-09-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Emilie Becat at the Cafe des Ambassadeurs --

The end of September calendar is over the top with mixed media presentations with the focus on Monopoly and Degas art venues, Frida Kahlo and Miro, only in New York. You can’t blame a gal for improving her mind. Here’s the scoop!!!
JEWELED MONOPOLY SET and Host Tournament at the Museum of American Finance unveils the display of an 18-karat gold Monopoly set covered with hundreds of precious gemstones designed by Sidney Mobell, on loan from the Smithsonian. Adults and children may participate in a Monopoly tournament, Oct. 15th, 48 Wall St. www.moaf.org. According to the Henry George School, Monopoly was original designed as a Georgist learning tool called the Landlord’s Game and it was later distorted to remove the Georgist message. Hear about “The Monopoly Game Scandal” at 121 E. 30th St. on Oct. 29th.
DEGAS Drawings and Sketchbooks

Introduces more than 20 drawings by Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas from The Morgan Library & Museum collection. Featured is the artist’s dynamic and varied use of drawings depicting contemporary life and portraits of himself, family members, and friends to intensive studies of dancers and performers. Peer into the exhibit and explore Degas’ innovative combinations of essence (thinned oil paint) and pastels as seen in Emilie Becat at the Café des Ambassadeurs. At 225 Madison Ave. Through Jan. 23, 2011.
FRIDA KAHLO: Face to Face

A new book by artist, Judy Chicago and art historian Frances Borzello turns attention to the work of Frida Kahlo, one of the world’s most revered female painters with a handpicked selection of a hundred portraits by Kahlo that speak to the full spectrum of women’s experience. You’ll remember that Judy Chicago’s best-known work is The Dinner Party, an important icon of feminist art and a milestone in 20th century art. At the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Sun, Oct 3rd, at 2 p.m. http://www.brookynmuseum.org/.
MIRO: The Dutch Interiors

On view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning Oct. 5 features the artist’s Dutch Interior paintings which have been hung alongside the Dutch Golden age pictures that inspired them. This encounter between the Dutch Masters and one of the most esteemed avant-garde artists of the 20th century is both unexpected and rare. Viewers will see how Miro moved from representational sources to his own language. 1000 Fifth Ave. www.metmuseum.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! So much artistic bounty in the Big Apple. Mark your calendar. I’ll be at Frida’s venue. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Check out Polly’s Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorian.blogspot.com.

NEW YORK, AN INTERNATIONAL FAIRYTALE CITY (C) By Polly Guerin

2010-09-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

The Contortionist at Amercas Society

New York City, an international fairytale city, ushers in autumn on a high note of magical happenings with cultural digs to art venues, an artistic wonderland and amazing storytellers right here in the Big Apple, the place to be in September. Here’s the scoop!!!

ART and MYTH IN ANCIENT PERU:

Americas Society in collaboration with Museo del Arte de Lima presents, “The History of the Jequetepeque Valley” showcasing Pre-Columbian art from the north coast of Peru. Amazing, only in New York my friends, the exhibit represents 3,000 years of the region’s cultural history. A rare opportunity to view the diverse artistic styles employed by the various societies that occupied the valley with ceramic traditions, in addition to textile and metal objects. Some items exhibit a whimsicality and the spirit of fantasy figures. www.americassociety.org. Till Oct 23, 680 Park Ave. at 68th St.

(photograph: Daniel Giannoni)
ROY LICHTENSTEIN: THE BLACK-AND-WHITE DRAWINGS, 1961-1968 at The Morgan Library & Museum presents the height of the Pop Art movement with Lichtenstein’s highly finished, black-and-white drawings that represent an essential contribution the history of modern art. The artist’s drawings recast tawdry illustrations from packaging, newspaper ads, and comic books into works of striking visual intensity, echoing the clean-edge aesthetic of the 1960s geometric abstractions. Represented imagery, culled from consumer culture, include baked potatoes, BB guns and foot medication to name a few. www.themorgan.org. 225 Madison Ave. (between 36th & 37th Sts.) Opens Sept. 24th.

REJOICE! THE NEW YORK STORY CONTINUES: New York is an international fairytale city filled with dreams, adventures and remarkable tales of resilience and true grit. Regina Ress and Laura Simms, storytellers and magicians of words, celebrate the re-opening of the Provincetown Playhouse with stories, mythic and true life, of ordinary magic. Storytelling at the Provincetown Playhouse, 133 MacDougal St. (between West 3rd St. and Washington Sq.) Admission $5 General. Children and students FREE. For tickets: 212.352.3101. www.nyu.edu/ticketcentral/calendar.
CARNIVAL! Brings out the child in every adult. The Wade Thompson Drill Hall at the Park Avenue Armory transforms itself into a theatrical and artistic wonderland unlike anything New York City has ever experienced. Get ready for the high jinks with a 50-foot Ferris wheel, whimsical performances, rides, games and educational workshops in circus arts. Friday, Oct. 8: 3-9pm, Saturday-Monday Oct. 9-11: 11am-7pm.Tickets available at the door. At 643 Park Ave. (67th St). www.armoryonpark.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Count me in to show up at every one of these fascinating New York events. Feast your eyes on the diverse culture of the city. Fan mail always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs include: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com.

Liberary Lions Usher in Big Apple Culture (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-09-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Khubilai Khan, Yuan Dynasty
What’s the modern kitchen got to do with design? Plenty and plenty more venues usher in the season with Mark Twain and Khubilai Kahn exhibits, plus Manhattan’s Forgotten Cultural Landmarks. Here’s the Scoop!!!

MARK TWAIN: A Skeptic’s Progress: Samuel Langhorne Clemens, , better known by his pen name, Mark Twain, the quintessential American author, humorist lecturer, essayist and master of satire takes up residence at The Morgan Library & Museum celebrating the 175 anniversary of his birth in 1835. In conjunction with The New York Public Library this joint exhibition explores a recurring theme throughout Twain’s body of work: his uneasy, often critical, attitude towards a rapidly modernizing America. Manuscripts, rare books, letters and key nonfiction works include Life on the Mississippi. Opens Sept. 17th. 225 Madison Ave. (between 36th & 37th Sts.) www.themorgan.org.
THE WORLD OF KHUBILAI KAHN
Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, showcases extraordinary paintings and sculpture, as well as the decorative arts in gold and silver, textile, ceramics and lacquer. A rare opportunity to view paintings and calligraphy of every major artist and school of the period. A magnificent example is the “cloth of gold,” made famous over the world by travelers to Yuan such as Marco Polo. Visit www.metmusum.org to view details of the exhibit which opens Sept. 28th. At the Met, 1000 Fifth Ave.
COUNTER SPACE: Design and the Modern Kitchen explores the twentieth-century transformation of the kitchen as a space of huge symbolic and practical significance. Its centerpiece is an unusually complete example of the iconic “Frankfurt Kitchen,” designed in 1926-27 by Grete Schutte-Lihotzky, the earliest work by a female architect. Her compact and ergonomic design, with its integrated approach to storage, appliances and work surfaces, reflected a commitment to transforming the lives of ordinary working people. Opens Sept. 15 at MOMA, 11 West 53rd St. www.moma.org .
GOTHAM LOST AND FOUND:
Uncovering Manhattan’s Forgotten Cultural Landmarks is a FREE lecture by David Freeland, historian, music journalist, and author sponsored by the Victorian Society in American, Metropolitan Chapter. Freeland will give a visual tour of forgotten cultural landmarks including Bowery Beer Gardens, a Motion Picture studio in Unique Square and Tin Pan Alley with human stories that continue to define us as New Yorkers. At The New York New Church, 114 East 35th St., between Park and Lexington Ave, Tues. Sept. 21, 6 PM.
Ta Ta darlings!!! There’s so much culture abounding in the Big Apple, but Mark Twain tops my list of visits. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Check out my Blogs: womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and poetryfromtheheartbypollyguerin.blogspot.com.

New York Celebrates September, Music in the Air (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-09-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

If music be the language of communication let there be listeners as the Big Apple celebrates with concerts for the masses and special events to mark the ending of summer and fall’s special happenings. Here’s the scoop!!!

ONE WORLD SYMPHONY’s outdoor concert, Sidewalk Sketches, under the baton of Sung Jin Hong, artistic director and conductor, performs a FREE CONCERT FOR New York City on Sat. Sept. 11th 5:45 to 6:30 pm on the front steps of Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue at 42nd St. Commissioned by The September Concert Foundation, Sidewalk Sketches is a tribute to New York City’s composers and writers and is a site-specific piece scored for winds, brass, percussion, accordion and singers. Not to be missed!!! www.oneworldsymnphony.org.
THE MUSIC OF AL-ANDALUS

A rare illustrated lecture with musical examples, Reynaldo Fernandez Manzano presents music of the ‘barbarian peoples,’ Arabic music and music of al-Andalus (in English with simultaneous English translation) at the Cuny Graduate Center, Segal Theater, 365 Fifth Ave. on Monday, Sept. 13th at 2 pm with a discussion and reception to follow the lecture. Sponsored by the Foundation for Iberian Music. iberianmusic@gc.cuny.edu. Reservations: Tel: 212.817.1819.

TALKING GLASS

Exhibition at the Czech Center is a unique exhibition resulting from a creative encounter of glass artist Borek Sipek and didgeridoo player Ondrej Smeykal. The architect and designer Sipek accepted the offer of Smeykal to create a series of musical instruments made of glass and took it as a great challenge. Their unexpected meeting was documented by Jan William Drnek, who large format photographs became a part of the project. Exhibit ends Sept. 10th. At the Bohemian National Hall 321 E. 73rd St. (Between 1st and 2nd Ave). info@czechcenter.com.646.422.3399.

ALFRED STIEGLITZ's NEW YORK

This groundbreaking, new exhibit at the Seaport Museum features famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz’s iconic New York City photographs. A central figure in the history of photographs and modern art and husband of artist Georgia O’Keefe, Stieglitz lived in New York City most of his life and chronicled its dramatic transformation into the archetypal metropolis of soaring skyscrapers, subways and electric lights. The exhibition opens to the public on Wednesday, Sept. 15 and runs through Jan. 10, 2011. www.seaportmuseum.org.
Ta Ta, darlings!!! I’m off to the Free One World Symphony concert. See you there. Fan mail to: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly Blogs worth your time…go to http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and www.thefashiohistorian.pollyguerin.blogspot.com.

THE BIG APPLE'S FASHIONABLE CURVE (C) By Polly Guerin

2010-08-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

The FASHIONABLE CURVE ©
Fashionable fans head for New York for a night out on the town during New York Fashion Week in its new home at Lincoln Center and Notorious & Notable Women of Style at the MCNY Museum. Mark your calendar. Here’s the scoop!!!

Photo: Japan: Gothic/Punk duo wear h.Naoto fashion.

FASHION’S NIGHT OUT

Sept. 10th , almost 1,000 stores have signed up to participate in Fashion’s Night Out and keeping their doors open late until 11 pm. Thousands of customer are expected to show up at fashionista stores have fun, shop, meet designers and celebrities. For the first time, Fashion’s Night Out: The Show, New York City’s largest-ever public fashion show, is scheduled on Sept. 7 at Lincoln Center. Tickets starting at $25 at the Lincoln Center box office with proceeds benefitting the NYC AIDS Fund. The cbs.com network will live-stream the runway show and will also present an hour-long prime-time special on Sept. 14 about the making of the event.

NOTORIOUS & NOTABLE: 20th Century Women of Style heralds the fashionable stylish women of class, bearing and distinction including Gloria Vanderbilt, Barbara Babe Paley, the Duchess of Windsor, Leona Horn, Sunny von Bulow, Diana Vreeland and Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton to name a few. Famed New York Herald Tribune fashion journalist, Eugenia Sheppard said, “To call a fashion wearable is the kiss of death. No fashion worth its salt is ever wearable.” These women names and faces are iconic in the social history of New York City. They share unique aspects of appearance, which made them distinctive and recognizable. At the Museum of the City of New York 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd Street. Sept. 14-Jan. 4 2011.
FASHION CULTURE at The Museum at FIT stages new perspectives on the culture of fashion through a series of Fashion Conversations with leaders from the world of fashion including designer Matthew Williamson and Laura Brown in conversation with Patricia Mears, MFIT deputy director, to mark the release of Williamson’s new book by fashion Historian Colin McDowell. In conversation with Coleen Hill introduces Julie Gilhart, fashion director and senior vice president of Barneys New York, who has inspired many designers to develop “green” product. Japanese Fashion in New York Kicks off with Steven Alan, menswear designer and Bye Bye Kitty!!! And a Lolita Tea Party. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated. However reservations are required: email museuminfo@fit.edu or call for a brochure 212.217.4585.

SHIFING THE GAZE: FEMINISM AND PAINTING at The Jewish Museum features key works by Judy Chicago, Eva Hesse, Nicole Eisenman, Louis Nevelson, Nancy Spero and Hannah Wilke among a cast of over 30 paintings and several sculptures and decorative objects from the Museum’s collection and also some on loan. Taking the visitor through a half-century of art the exhibit, puts women artists in the spotlight and explores the roots of feminist art in Abstract Expressionism, Pop and Minimalism with recent works targeting the representation of women in popular culture. At Fifth Ave. at 92nd St., www.thejewishmusuem.org. Opens Sept. 8th.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Every good fashionista should mark her calendar. I’m getting ready to attend the first ever fashion show during Fashion’s Night Out: The Show. Fan mail to: pollytalk@verizon.net. Check out Polly’s Blogs: http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin@blogspot.com and women galore at http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com.

Fishing For Culture in the Big Apple (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-08-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

As the limpid days of summer drone on it takes a fisherman’s rod to reel in the city’s best catch at the tail end of summer. There’s plenty of cultural fish in the Big Apple pond. Here’s the scoop!!!

FISH FORMS: LAMPS BY FRANK GEHRY colorful, beautiful, playful, whimsical and glowing the sculptural artworks of the internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry explore the significance of fish imagery in Gehry’s work. The exhibition brings together eight of artists’ fish lamps with an accompanying slide show overview of how the fish form has changed from iconic symbol to transformative in Gehry’s ongoing architectural practice. The lamps are displayed in near darkness to create a gallery of glowing sculptural fish lit from within. Opens Aug. 29 through Oct. 31 at The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave at 92nd St. www.thejewishmuseum.org.
WORK OF ART: ABDI FARAH
Is fishing for high praise and compliments. This exhibition of work by the winner of Work of Art, Bravo’s hour-long creative competition 10-part television series features the artist’s figurative paintings, sculpture, an drawings reflecting Farah’s investigation of the human body as a material entity that possess the potential to transcend its physical form. Ten artworks recently created in a variety of media include the centerpiece of the exhibition, a life-size sculpture of two young men sprawled on the floor, it immediacy heightened by the addition of sneakers on the feet of both men. Through Oct. 17. Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway. www.brooklynmusuem.org.
HOWL: The Film is a kind of dramatized drama on the beat poet, Alan Ginsberg’s poem of the same name which keeps you riveted to your seat trying to comprehend the legendary poet’s autobiographical and hallucinatory work that fueled the infamous landmark 1957 obscenity trial. You meet his friends; Jack Kerouac who introduced Ginsberg to new forms of writing and William Burroughs who helped him define his way as a gay man in the 1950, when public models were few. Most of all you’ll come away bewitched with an urge to actually read the poem. Coming to movie theaters in September. At the time of Ginsberg’s death, HOWL, had sold more than 800,000 copies and been translated into 25 languages.
ANNE MORGAN’S WAR
Rebuilding Devastated France, 1917-1924 presents rare photographs and silent film footage documenting the First World War’s devastating impact on France. The exhibition brings to life the extraordinary work taken by a small team of American women volunteers who left the United States to devote themselves to relief work with the dynamic leader, Anne Tracy Morgan, a daughter of financier Pierpont Morgan spearheading the campaign and Anne Murray Dike, a physician, taking the lead organizing activities in the field. . With haunting view of ruined French Towns, portraits of refugees it’s a ‘must see.’ The Morgan Library and Museum, 225 Madison Ave. Opens Sept 3. www.themorgan.org.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I highly recommend HOWL, the preview was a tour de force, a unique portrait of Ginsberg, the beat poet who found new ways to express himself and in doing so, changed his own life and galvanized a generation. Fan mail always welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. BLOGS: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

Day Tripping Mini Vacations From NYC (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-08-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

What to do on the dog days of summer? Get thee to a watering place or take a nature or history tour. Day tripping to nearby resorts makes the dog days of summer more durable especially when you can get out of town for the day and soak up local culture. Here’s the scoop!!!

NATURE AND HISTORY TOURS

Takes you on an adventure to visit one of the largest and oldest working dude ranches in the Poconos, horseback ride and see the second most powerful waterfall on the east coast, the 77 foot Great Falls, second to only Niagara Falls. The trail rides are both for experienced and inexperienced riders, but if that’s not your choice there’s a swimming pool, rowboats, archery, a Petting Zoo and outdoor games. Sun., Aug. 22, 7 am-7pm. $139. www.HinesTours.com. 1.646.403.5653.
41st ANNUAL FINE ARTS & CRAFTS FAIR

At the Garrison Landing, Garrison, New York is an easy commute. Take the Metro North Hudson Line train and get 50% off admission ($8). Regional artist and craftspeople offer collector quality handmade items, there’s a food court and live music to liven up the day, plus free rides on the sloop Woody Guthrie. Art lovers browse the exhibitions in the galleries and art demos. Aug. 21-22, rain or shine, 10am-5pm . Info: www.garrisonartcenter.org or 845.424.3960.
21st ANNUAL BARD MUSIC FESTIVAL’s

Final weekend in New York’s Hudson Valley features Summerscape with Alban Berg headliner, August 20-22. Listeners will encounter music ranging from the familiar Viennese waltzes of Berg’s youth to the most avant-garde music of the 1920s and 1930s. He created a proper context for new music based on principles that included ample rehearsal and the absence of critics. “No Critic Allowed: The Society of Private Performances” Friday night includes works by Stravinsky, Ravel, Bartok and Berg. “Crimes and Passions”ends the run with works by Berg, Hindemith and Weill. Info: www.bard.edu.
ROOFTOP MOVIES AT THE CZECH CENTER NEW YORK

Cool off the summer heat with sky-high breezes as you enjoy Czech films and Manhattan views on the rooftop every Tuesday at dusk. August 17th, Girls night out would enjoy “Subway with Love,” a romantic comedy about two women who tirelessly seek Mr. Right. In Czech with English subtitles. FREE admission, but space is limited and seating is first come, first served. www.czechcenter.com.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to Garrison on Saturday for the Arts & Crafts Fair. See you there!!! Fan mail: pollytalk@verizon.net and please do go to Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com, and for fashion http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

Summer Serenades New Yorkers (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-08-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

Let there be Chocolate Soldiers, let there be music everywhere. The concrete jungle softens its architectural wonders with musical serenades to give pleasure to native New Yorkers and tourists too. With concerts in gardens and operas, French balladeers breeze in with a bit of fresh air to cool off summer’s sizzling days. Here’s the scoop!!!

THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER
The 1908 light opera by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man is a merry romp, a fusion of Viennese operetta and British wit that is sure to charm your creative sensibilities. This comic tale, a boy-meets-girl scenario concerns a handsome deserter who takes refuge in the household of a Bulgarian general and sets all the women aflutter including Nadia the general’s daughter. August 12-14, at 8pm and August 11,14 and 15, at 3 pm. Fisher Center at Bard College www.fishercenter.bard.edu.
WATERLILY CONCERTS
The New York Botanical Garden invites you to listen to the importance of food choices and enjoy after hours viewing of the Edible Garden until 7 pm, followed by a delightful summer concert. Bring a blanket and stretch out under the evening sky. Pack a light repast or purchase a picnic basket complete with beer or wine, crudités, and fruit. Dates: Thursday August 12 and August 29. Adults $10, Seniors/Students $9, children 2-12 $4. Members Free. www.nybg.org.
BRYANT PARK READING ROOM
Step into a tranquil place in the heat of the city, the host site of presentations by authors and poets at 42nd St. Get into the swing Wednesday, August 11th, 12:30 pm. when Word for Word author, Terry Teachout presents his book “Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong,” a portrait of the man behind the music. Sit back and make yourself at home with the music of this legendary jazz master as told by drama and music critic of the Wall Street Journal. Blog.bryantpark.org.
FRENCH CHANSON
Arnaud Fluerent-Didier, a multi-instrumentalist strums up with a taste for 1970s synthesized sounds, owes much to Michel Legrand and the band AIR. His song “France-Culture,’ from his latest album is a headliner. While the music is solidly anchored in its time, the lyrics are a bridge to pre-1968 preoccupations and are reminiscent of the literary dialogue of early Eric Rohmer movies. In the MOMA sculpture garden. Sets performed 5:30 and 7 pm. Cocktails and wine available as well as ice cream treats. www.moma.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! The fresh air under the cool summer night is enticing reason to hear glorious music all summer. Email pollytalk@verizon.net.
Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com. Fashion friends go to http://www.thefashionhistorian.blogspot.com.

New York Hits The High Note with Musical Venues (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-08-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
Music, Music everywhere at distant shores, French musical singers in the garden, Haitian dancers and artists' talks headline events with last chance to see Picasso. August opens on a high note of entertainments. Here’s the scoop!!!

THE DISTANT SOUND…Franz Schreker’s opera with the American Symphony orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein takes center stage at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College and what a performance!!! The lush, sumptuous music introduces a riveting Venetian bordello with 1930’s style Vegas showgirls and Grete the star courtesan with a huge orchestra, sizable chorus and large cast. It tells the tragic story of Fritz, a composer who forsakes Grete, his beloved, for the sound that is a distant echo of her presence. Leaving her she ascends as the star of the bordello, only to descend into the depths of despair as a streetwalker. Wednesday August 4 at 3pm or August 6 at 7pm. Tickets 845.758.7900 www.fishercenter.bard.edu.
HEAR FRANCE AT MOMA

Summer nights a la Francaise begin Thursday, Aug. 5. In celebration of the exhibition Matisse; Radical Invention, popular song-writers draw on various aspects of the “Chanson” heritage with a strong emphasis on literate lyrics. Mocke and Armelle Pioline are the headliners this Thursday and are sophisticated purveyors of the new French genre. Aug. 12th Pascal Parisot and Fredda’s music mixes classical French songs, Latin Beats and Brazilian harmony. In the Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture garden in two sets 5:30 and 7 p.m. but do arrive early to get a seat, these are very popular venues. www.moma.org.
HAITIAN RHYTHMS

Art and entertainment celebrates Brooklyn’s Haitian community Saturday, August 7th , a FREE Target First Saturday event. The performances run all day with the Peniel Guerrier and Tabboula dance troupe, Le Troupe Makandal’s Haitian drumming represents Haiti’s history and Pierre Francillon’s artist talk responds to the works in the exhibition Andy Warhol. Films and a dance party light up the night. www.brooklynmuseum.org
ONLY 3 WEEKS REMAIN:

To see the exhibitions Picasso and American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity both on view through August 15th at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The American Woman is a show within a show, an extraordinary review of fashions with spectacular illustrated backgrounds with images of each era and film clips to augment the fashion images and movie star icons. Not to be missed!!! PICASSO, offers an unprecedented opportunity to see one of the most important collections in the world of the artist’s work. www.metmusuem.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I think I’ll go to France via MOMA’s garden and listen to “Chanson.” Fan mail always welcome pollytalk@verizon.net. Check out my Blogspot Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucced.blogspot.com and for fashion fans http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

Flying Down to Rio in New York Venues (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-07-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

No need to fly down to Rio!!! It’s time to samba, tango and dance the light fantastic and hear the throbbing music of the Brazilian beat in the garden and in film. Listen to The Distant Sound; see a Colette adaptation and a Swedish crime series. Here’s the Scoop!!!

PREMIERE BRAZIL brings Brazilian filmmakers to New York in a collaboration between The Museum of Modern Art and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. Check the film schedule at www.moma.org. Bye Bye Brazil, Wed. July 28, 8pm, a traveling side show stops in rural villages hoping to mesmerize the townspeople. A young accordionist becomes enamored of the show’s exotic dancer joins show as it sets off deeper into the country’s interior. Lula, Son of Brazil Thurs, July 29, 8pm, presents the emotionally involving, fictionalized biopic about Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, focusing on his poor childhood in the interior of Pernambuco. Film Admission $10, seniors $8. The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, 11W. 53 St.
THE SCUPLTURE GARDEN taps into music of the Brazilian-American composer and singer, Kay Lyra’s deep bossa nova roots, which incorporates nontraditional sounds, from the pedal steel guitar to bagpipes. Her oeuvre includes her arrangement of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” as well as her setting of a Dorothy Parker poem. Her precise, pure voice fills the air this Thurs, July 29 at MOMA. Hear “the daughter of bossa nova with a crystal voice,” sets performed 5:30 and 7 pm. Regular Museum admission applies: 212.708.9400
LISTEN TO THE DISTANT SOUND music and libretto by Franz Schreker explores the complexities of love, eroticism and art-for-art’s sake idealism. It tells the tragic story of Fritz, a composer who forsakes Grete, his beloved, for the sound that is a distant echo of her presence. July 30 and August 6 at 7 pm and Aug 1* and Aug 4 at 3pm. Round trip bus transportation available for Aug. 1 ($20) www.fishercenter.bard.edu Box Office: 845-758.7900.
JULIE DE CARNEILHAN…A literary adaption for the actress Edwige Feuillere—this time a Colette story. As Julie, Feuillere embodies the countess who enters into a scheme to earn millions. A rare screening of this witty and enchanting spectacle, not to be missed. It is the last film of the summer season at the Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street. Showings 12:30, 4 & 7:30 pm. $10 (members free)
WALLANDER: The Second Season continues at Scandinavia House. Swedish detective Kurt Wallander returns with his all new riveting investigations based on stories by author Henning Mankell. Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 pm July 28 and July 30. Individual tickets $10 ($7 ASF Members) 58 Park Ave. (at 38th Street) www.scandinaviahouse.org.

Ta Ta darlings!!! It’s a busy week…mark your calendar. I’m off to listen to The Distant Sound. Fan mail to: pollytalk@verizon.net. Do check out my Blogs: womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and for fashion fans go to www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin. Visit: www.pollytalk.com.

Plays and Thriller Art Spice Up Summer Events (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-07-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

The Train Kept a Rollin'

Be part of a train wreck, join the circus, witness thriller art and brush up with genius works of art---all this and much, much more awaits you in the Big Apple and beyond. Here’s the scoop!!!

JUDGMENT DAY by Austrian-Hungarian playwright Odon von Horvath rolls roaring onto the stage as part of Bard College’s SummersScape program of theater, dance, music and film. The drama concerns a modest and punctual train conductor whose duty is distracted by a pretty passenger, resulting in a fatal crash. Is he guilty or is he not? That is the question. But driving the play is the remarkable sound affects of the train that jolts one’s safety as that all too real locomotive crashes onto the scene. An experience worth the venture in the gleaming, modern façade of the, Frank Gehry-designed Fisher Performing Arts Center in bucolic Annandale-on-Hudson till July 25th. Followed by The opera Distant Sound, by Franz Schreker and a production of Oscar Straus’ 1908 operetta, The Chocolate Soldier. For details: www.fishercenter.bard.edu/summerscape.

AMERICAN JESUS casts photographer David LaChapelle’s longtime friend Michael Jackson, shot just before his death last year, in a series of iconic Biblical scenes and another one of the photographer’s controversial pals, Naomi Campbell, makes a cameo as Botticelli’s Venus. La Chapelle said about his oeuvre, “I believe Michael in a sense is an American martyr. Martyrs are persecuted and Michael was persecuted. Michael was innocent and martyrs are innocent.” The off-the-wall artfully staged tableaux are on view at Paul Kasmin Gallery, 293 10th Ave. Through Sept. 28th. 212.563.4474 .

ROY LICHTENSTEIN’S back at the Morgan Library & Museum. His signature brightly colored paintings and his subject matter drawn from his Pop Art images is a revealing window into the development of Lichtenstein’s art, from commercial illustrations and comic strips and the famous Benday dots. The exhibition provides a rare opportunity to study the artist’s black-and-white paintings during the 1960s and underscores the two themes that came to dominate the drawings, household objects and comic book scenes of war and romance. Mark your calendar the Black-and-White Drawings opens Sept. 24. http://www.themorgan.org/.

BRING YOUR INNER CHILD to THE BIG APPLE CIRCUS where spectacular acrobats, Russian wizards of the trampoline flying overhead dazzle and delight even adult naysayers. How do those Chinese contortionists do it? Fit into cans and twist and turn with such dexterity? The juggler throws plates in the air where they float overhead and he catches them in a tumble, fiery steeds stomp their way into the arena guided by a beautiful woman while rescue dogs ply their amazing agility and all this with Bello the clown cavorting with his gravity-defying hair and signature tuxedo, white gloves and spats joins in the fun with showman panache. Through Sun. July 25th mostly 12:30 and 4:30 PM performances. At Mill River Park, Stamford, CT. http://www.bigapplecircus.org/.

Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m beating the heat and heading North to bucolic Bard and don’t miss the Big Apple Circus!!! Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com/.
VISIT HER AT http://www.pollytalk.com/.

Jazzing Up the Summer in the Big Apple (c) By Polly Guerin

2010-07-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Uptown/Downtown all around the town, there's never a dull moment in the Big Apple. Cultural pursuits, Matisse and Jazzy dancing in New York Harbor on Governors Island. Be there!!! Here's the scoop!!!

THE JAZZ-AGE LAWN PARTY

Ladies and sporting gents and tiny tots, too, put on your Flapper duds and sashay over to Governors Island in the heart of majestic New York Harbor. It’s the setting of a true Gatsby affair July 17th and 18th for one of summer’s best party celebrations with Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra providing swing music. Activities for all ages including food and drink plus a pie contest require pre-register sign up govislandpie@gmail.com. See the 20’s motorcar exhibition and Charleston lessons by Roddy Caravella. $10/door, children under 7 Free. A recession friendly advance admission $7. Order at: http//www.brownpapertickets.com/event/116243.
INDIAN FOLK ART MARKET

Celebrate the tradition arts of India at Asia Society’s Indian Folk Art Market where master artisans will be on hand to display, demonstrate and sell their work. Block printing, tie an dye, embroidery, painting and more as you gain insight into the creative process from the artisans themselves. Sponsored by India Abroad, Indo-American Arts Council and Asia Society and Museum, Thursday July 15th-Saturday July 17th, from 1:00 PM – 4:30 daily. 725 Park Ave. at 70th St. Adm: $10 www.asiasocietymuseum.org.
MATISSE: RADICAL INVENTION

This ambitious exhibition investigates a pivotal point in the career of Henri Matisse through nearly 120 of the artist’s paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints. The exhibit examines Matisse’s production from his return to Paris from Morocco in 1913 to his departure for Nice in 1917. Over these five years, he developed his most demanding, experimental, and enigmatic works which are reassessed as products of one of the most significant chapters in Matisse’s evolution as an artist. Opens July 18th at MOMA, Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org.
THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Way up in New York’s cultural enclave, Audubon Terrace, the Hispanic Society of America, a treasure trove of cultural lore, lures you back to see the reinstalled Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida murals, featuring 230 feet of colorful contemporary life in Spain, province by province with luminous dancers, cowboys, sheepherders, amusing market sellers and more than at first meets the eye. The Sorolla murals, all with a minimum of text, are worth the vicarious trip to Spain. FREE, 613W. 155th St. at Broadway.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Look for me doing the Charleston at the Jazz-Age Lawn Party. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net.

Take this opportunity to view Polly’s Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

The Big Apple Heats Up Day Tripping (c) by Polly Guerin

2010-07-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

It’s a scorcher to stay put in the city so let’s head out for a day tripper to nearby Connecticut where ‘Bello is Back,’ and Pops in the Park turns up a breezy change of scenario. Here’s the scoop!!!

BELLO IS BACK! At the Big Apple Circus at Mill River Park in Stamford and I’ll be there to see the playful, elegant Bello Nock, named “America’s Best Clown” with his trilling feats of derring-do and stylish sense of whimsy. Spectacular acrobats from Italy, Russian wizards of the trampoline and the flying trapeze, fiery steeds and Chinese contortionists add to the fun with the Big apple Circus Band and Picaso Jr. entertains with his extraordinary juggling act. Runs for 26 performances, usually 12:30 and 4:30 PM through Sunday July 25th. Tickets start at $15 call 888.541.3750. Groups of 15 people or more or wheelchair seating call 800.922.3772, http://www.bigapplecircus.org/.
POPS IN THE PARK IN STAMFORD
Begins Wednesday July 7th with the Columbus Park series of four performances kicking off with Neil Sedaka who has written and performed and inspired countless songs linked to Rock ‘n’ Roll history. Classical pops with the Stamford Symphony under the baton of music director, Eckart Preu on July 14 is followed by a son’s extraordinary homage of his legendary father, Mel Torme on July 21 with Steve March Torme. The series ends with Bowzer’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Party. Adm. Charge $5. 6:30 PM. Call: 203.348.5285 or email annette@stamford-downtown.com.
THE EDIBLE GARDEN
Returns to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx with an exhibition that celebrates locally grown seasonal food with food and gardening experts every day. Celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Dan Barber narrate the Edible Garden audio tour; other chefs provide healthy cooking demonstrations in the Conservatory Kitchen. Visitors also sample a selection of food and beverage products at the Tasting Terrace. “Cooking for Kids” is every Tuesday and Wed. at 11 AM, “Cooking for Your Health” every Wednesday at 12:30 PM, and “Whole Foods market Fridays” every Friday at 2 PM. Check the Garden’s Web site for more details: http://www.nybg.org/.
CHILL OUT at SCANDINAVIA HOUSE MUSEUM’S
Outdoor garden terrace, serving refreshments by Smorgas Chef right in the heart of New York City, 59 Park Ave at 38th St. A selected series of fresh Nordic musicians perform the first Thursday of the month kicking off with a Nordic Summer Jam in Volvo Hall July 8th at 6:30 PM. $10 ($8 ASFMembers) For reservations: 212.847.9740 or http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/.

Ta Ta darlings!!! Let’s take the Metro North and head of places outside the city for a change of venue. Love to hear from you!!! Fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net or check out my Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and fashion news at http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

The Big Apple Kicks Up A Dancing Summer (c) by Polly Guerin

2010-06-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

Grab your partner, let’s go!!! There’s music in the air filling the summer nights with dancing feet in a Speakeasy and swing time setting and a New Orleans style Jazz Mass, FREE movies too. A Deco Cabaret chanteuse sings Gershwin and Porter. Here’s the scoop!!!

THE SPEAKEASY at the Museum of the City of New York kicks off the dance craze and invites you join in the Prohibition gaiety every Wednesday starting June 30-August 18, 6-9 PM. Meet Flapper Jane, and enjoy the Fifth Avenue Terrace, with dancing to the swinging sounds of the Jazz Age. $15, $10 for Museum members secretly admits you with one FREE drink ticket and special exhibitions. 1220 Fifth Ave. at 104 St. Tell them “Jerry” sent you. 212.534.1672. http://www.mcny.org/.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT SWING at Lincoln Center holds an outdoor dance party from June 29-July 17 featuring 25 theme nights including swing, tango, rock ‘n’ roll, and more. Each evening begins with a dance lesson at 6:30 PM and the live music begins at 7:30 PM. Battle of the Bands George Gee Orchestra versus The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra Big Band Swing kicks off the festivities at Damrosch Park at 62nd St. Individual events cost $17 but you can buy a six-night swing pass for $90 or a season pass for $160. Buy Tics online http://www.midsummernightsswing.org/. 212.721.6500.
JAZZ MASS at St. John’s Christopher Street Lutheran Church lets you get into line and experience the Jazz Mass with genuine New Orleans traditional style music that ends with the famous Jazz Parade outside and around the church. Get into the groove with some of New York’s finest Jazz musicians and some from New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz. Every Sunday at 6 PM. 81 Christopher St. at W. 4th. 212.242.5737.

WEIMAR ON SCREEN at Neue Galerie offers a FREE summer film series featuring the tumultuous years of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) which despite the turmoil brought about a flowering of art and culture in Germany. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, a poetic valentine of the German Capital City is shown June 28 and July 5; Pandora’s Box features the free-spirited Lulu played by Louise Brooks July 12 and 19. Mondays at 4 PM in Café Fledermaus. 1048 Fifth Ave. at 86th St. For complete list: www.neuegalerie.org/programs.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! Do join me at Lily’s Restaurant in the Roger Smith Hotel, 501 Lexington Ave. where gorgeous lush voice of Kathleen Landis sings Gershwin and Porter with her trio Thursday and Saturday evenings through Labor Day. Reservations: 212.838.0844 or http://www.opentable.com/.

Fan mail is always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net Check out my Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

Big Apple Events in Vacation City (c) by Polly Guerin

2010-06-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

While tourist flock to the Big Apple New Yorker’s can call it their own vacation city with the inside track on happenings in music, art, poetry and fashion. Only in New York my friends, Only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

I’VE BEEN SCOOPED!!!

Sam Roberts’ book “Only in New York,” (St. Martin’s Press) explores of the world’s most fascinating, frustrating and irrepressible city. Sam ought to know. Since 1968, this city editor for the New York Daily News has been covering New York City in print and in his popular New York Times podcasts. He writes 70 essays about what makes New York tick and draws on his experience as a lifelong New Yorker and on his four prize-winning decades of interviews. Subscribe to “Only in New York” podcast at www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html.

ST. JOHN'S JAZZ MASS

Get into a Jazz mood, St. John's Lutheran Church is having a New Orleans' style Creole dinner June 23rd at 7 p.m. to benefit “Imus Ranch for Children with Cancer” with a lecture, rehearsal and talk by Hallema Sharif , with Sharel Cassity. $10 The actual Jazz Mass takes place Sun., July 11th at 6 p.m. at St. Johns landmark church which has graced 81 Christopher St. in Greenwich Village since 1821. Info: marlenejp524@hotmail.com.

PUCCI IS BROADWAY BOUND

Ralph Pucci, the upscale mannequin maker has created 32 sculpture-like mannequins for the outdoor fashion event “Sidewalk-Catwalk,” which will be along Broadway pedestrian plazas from June 24 to Sept. 6. The event draws attention to New York’s fashion industry with “Timeless Walking Women,” as Pucci calls his collection, outfitted by Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Anna Sui, Betsey Johnson and other prominent designers in weather-resistant, durable fabrics. Free for the viewing. http://www.ralphpucci.org/.

EVERYBODY WINS:

Investing in Energy Efficiency June 29th, 5:30-7 PM at the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street with the Sierra Club holds a lively discussion: solar, wind and nuclear may make more headlines, but increasing the efficiency of the US’s energy use in buildings could be an immediate opportunity to decrease reliance on foreign oil and dirty fossil fuels. Reservations required, Lindsay Seeger, 212.908.4110 or lseeger@moaf.org FREE for members, $25 for guests.

Ta Ta darlings!!! It's time to catch Kathleen Landis, that popular songbird with a trio June 23 and 26 at the Roger Smith Hotel @47th St. Don’t forget the live Metropolitan opera performances this summer at local movie houses. Theater locations vary—visit metopera.org/hdlive. Fan mail goes to pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit my Blogs: thefashionhistorianpollyguerin, womendeterminedtosucceed and awakenyoursleepingbeauty.blogspot.com.

THE BIG APPLE SERENADE WITH MUSIC AND ART (c) by Polly Guerin

2010-06-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Summer celebrates music in the city with pianos throughout the Big Apple. Just for the fun of it tickle the ivories FREE at different locations and take your photo or video.

Summer serenades the city with Nordic Midsummer music, a book reading al fresco, classical music in the park and artsy Warhol fun. Only in New York my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

Tickle the Ivories? “PLAY ME I’M YOURS” Sing for Hope, a public service organization, installs 60 upright pianos in parks and public spaces throughout New York City available FREE for public use from June 21-July 5. The public is also invited to post photos and videos of their performance at www.nycstreetpianos.com which also has a full list of locations. The 6/21 opening takes place with Make Music New York, a one-day festival of FREE concerts in public spaces throughout the city. www.makemusicny.org.
TRANQUILITY AND NOVELS: The Bryant Park Reading Room is the perfect solution with the best voices from the field of creative writing. Word for Word author, fashion publicist and reality TV star Kelly Cutrone, (The City & Kell on Earth), discusses her “real girls” (and boys) guide to making it in today’s world. Complimentary books, magazines and newspaper. FREE For full schedule www.bryantpark.org.
NORDIC MIDSUMMER CELEBRATION: Midsummer, also known as the summer solstice, is the longest day of the year, but Scandinavians know it as “the day that never ends.” It is also a day of non-stop celebration extolling the sun’s path around the earth. Scandinavia House, the Nordic Center in America invites you to its Nordic celebration, featuring music from Copenhagen based musician CallmeKat (Katrine Ottosen), Swedish guitarist Samuel Hallkvist, and Icelandic cellist Saeunn Porsteinsdottir. Monday, June 21. ($15, $12 ASF members). 58 Park Ave. http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/.

NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS, begin June 22 at 7:30 pm at the Naumburg Bandshell, withThe KNIGHTS Eric Jacobsen, conductor; Jan vogler, Cello playing music by Felix Mendelssohn, Antonin Dvorak, Franz Schubert, and Morton Feldman. FREE At the Naumburg Bandshell, Concert Ground, Central Park, south of 72nd St. For full details on music

http://www.naumbergconcerts.org/.

ANDY WARHOL REVISITED: Soup cans and Brillo boxes, is that what Andy Warhol was made of? Not so, if you visit the Brooklyn Museum where fans have a chance to see a long neglected body of work and the period in which Warhol was most productive. The artist’s works from the late 70s and 80s are the focus of this exhibit that reveals another side of the artist. www.brooklynmuseum.org.
Ta Ta darlings: I’m off to tinkle the ivories. See you there!!! Fan mail send pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs: www.womendeterminedtosucceed, www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin, www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty.

AL FRESCO ENTERTAINMENTS IN THE BIG APPLE (c) by Polly Guerin

2010-06-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

Summertime and the living is easy and entertainment goes outdoors opening with The Edible Garden and ending with Poetry of Flowers, opens with live music in the MOMA Summer Garden to walking tours of Jackson Heights. Here’s the scoop!!!

EMILY DICKINSON’S GARDEN: The Poetry of Flowers comes to a close June 13th at The New York Botanical Garden where a replica of Emily’s personal garden and poetry posters throughout the pathways illustrate how plants and flowers influenced her poetry and writing. The Mertz Library gallery artifacts provide rare glimpse into Emily’s world.

THE EDIBLE GARDEN growing the preparing good food brings you locally grown, seasonal food with cooking demonstrations. Mario Batali is a headliner chef with cooking demonstrations. Festival weekend begins with Get Out and Grill, June 19-20, with a Sunday BBQ perfect for Father’s Day. Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road, Bronx, New York. 718.817.8000. http://www.nybg.org/.

MUSIC FILLS THE SUMMER NIGHTS in MOMA’S Sculpture Garden, showcasing an international range of music FREE on four Sunday evenings beginning with musicians from the Juilliard School on July 11 and 25, and groups selected by Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 18 and August 1. Instrumentalists include the Don Byron Ivey-Divey Trio, led by the acclaimed clarinetist and saxophonist, and an impressive roster of composers from around the world. 11 W. 53 St. http://www.moma.org/.

CELEBRATE HISTORIC JACKSON HEIGHTS and take a self-guided tour of private interior gardens surrounded by 1920s-era garden apartments, only open to the public once a year, Saturday June 12th from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Visit nine gardens at your own pace, following a map included in your ticket. Pick up tickets $10 at the Community church, 81-10 35th Ave. on Sat. morning where a FREE slide lecture on the history of Jackson Heights is given 10:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Escorted walking tours of the Historic District 12 noon on Sunday, June 13th. 718.565.5344. http://www.jacksonheightsbeautifucationgroup.org/.

DRESSING THE SOUL, Mixing fashion and fine art, international artist Caterina Bertolotto shows her unique art dresses each inspired by a book bought at the East West Living bookstore. The event features nine handmade dresses with topics ranging from meditation to ecology. Each piece is full of depth, thoughtfulness, and whimsy. Artist’s reception is FREE to the public. 78 Fifth Ave., http://www.caterinabertolotto.com/.

Ta Ta darlings. You know I’ll be at Dressing the Soul, See You there!!! Looking for your fan mail: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs: http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty. blogspot.com; http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and for an inside track visit: http://www.newyork’shiddentreasures.blogspot.com.

SUMMER SIZZLES WITH BIG APPLE DIVERSIONS (C)

2010-06-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

Life in the Big Apple is FREE as the breeze with sizzling summer diversions some FREE, other worth the price. Go to the West Side for Apollo I, head to Bryant Park for poetry and music, take in book signings. Keep your ‘cool’ and and never get bored. I guarantee it. Here’s the Scoop!!!

“27 Seconds,” at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, honors the heroes who died in the Apollo I explosion with a timeline of the different phases of America’s race to the Moon, a video of John F. Kennedy’s race to the moon speech and the role the USS Intrepid played while acting as a space capsule recovery ship. “27 Seconds,” represents the amount of time that passed from when the spark ignited the first to the final voice transmission of the Apollo I crew. Free with price of admission to the museum. Pier 86 (46th St. & 12th Ave.) http://www.intrepidmusuem.org/.

BRYANT PARK ‘Free as a Breeze’ gets you in the mood to hear some of the city’s best pianists tickle the ivories with some jazz, ragtime and summer favorites 12:30 to 2 p.m. Gather round the park’s custom-made piano at 42nd St. and 6th Ave. The Bryant Park Reading Room offers complimentary books, magazines and newspapers and is the host site for Word for Word presentations by authors and poets. For full listings and updates, visit http://www.brantpark.org.
“La Senora,” Andree Aelion Brooks, presents the incredible story of Donna Gracia Nasi, a l6th Century Jewish woman banker who developed an escape network that saved thousands of her fellow conversos from the terrors of the Inquisition. At The Brotherhood Synagogue, 28 Gramercy Park South, Sun. June 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $18 adults, $9 students. Tapas, Sangria and Music. 212.674.5750.
THE WEAVING is the story of Corrie ten Boom who courageously aided hundreds of Jews in escaping the Nazis during WWII, and brought hope into the darkness of the Ravensbruck Camp. Film June 13th, 7 p.m. only one night, at Alice Tully Hall. Tickets: 212.671.4050 or at the Box Office.
INDO-AMERICAN ARTS COUNCIL presents Pepita’s Seth’s ‘Heaven on Earth,’ book launch of a photographic journey of the Universe of Kerala’s Guruvayur temple. Talk and slide show followed by Q&A and reception. Suggested donation $5. Rsvp: admin@iaac.us. Wed. June 2, 6-9 p.m., Aicon Gallery, 35 Great Jones St.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m taking myself to Word for Word to recite my own poetry “Broken Pieces,” which mends many of life’s dilemmas. Do be a good pet send fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net; visit

http://www.thefashionhistorian.blogspot.com/; health advice http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty/; amazing women http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.