FOOTSTEPS TO CULTURE IN NEW YORK (C)

By Polly Guerin

FOOTSTEPS TO CULTURE

IN NEW YORK (c)

The harbingers of Spring await the adventurous seekers of culture stepping up to the plate just in time to take an insider’s view of The Catcher in the Rye, The Nose, Swedish Films and Delman Shoes. Here’s the scoop!!!

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

As a tribute to J.D. Salinger the Morgan Library & Museum presents an exhibition of letters by the author covering a 44 yr correspondence written to Michael Mitchell, who was commissioned by Salinger to create the dust jacket for the book. The exhibit provides hitherto unknown details about the daily habits and thought of this legendary author. On view starting March 16th www.themorgan.com.
THE NOSE AT THE MET

An imaginative new production at the Metropolitan Opera debuts March 5th (www.metopera.org) in a dazzlingly and inventive new production of Shostakovich’s masterpiece created by the artist William Kentridge. Based on an absurdist short story by Gogol “Works for the Nose” is currently on view in the Gallery Met. The Museum of Modern Art has also mounted a retrospective of Kentridge’s work all assembled in one wonderfully eccentric and powerful collage. www.moma.org.
SCANDAL SANDALS AND LADY SLIPPERS

Fifty dazzling Delman styles, provide tantalizing copies of shoes worn by Queen Elizabeth for her 1953 coronation and Delman’s 2000 version, golden evening sandals designed for Irene Castle’s, “Scandal Sandal,” dancing shoes and multicolored floral print booties with an unusual turn-back throat. Through April 4. FREE At The Museum at FIT. www.fitnyc.edu/museum.
THE WALLANDER MYSTERIES

The mysteries of the celebrated, best-selling author Henning Mankell author of the popular & riveting Kurt Wallander mysteries are showcased in a film series at the Scandinavia House Museum that started last week and runs till May 7th. www.scanhousemuseum.org. Mondays 6:30 PM, $9 (members $6). Mankell’s latest book, The Man from Beijing (Alfred A. Knopf) just out.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m off to see The Nose, and who knows it just might be enough to make me laugh!!! Fan mail to: pollytalk@verizon.net. Check my Blogs: fashion historian, amazingartdecodivas and awakenyoursleeping beauty.

LAST MINUTE CULTURE IN THE BIG APPLE (c)

LAST MINUTE CULTURE IN THE BIG APPLE (c)

By Polly Guerin

All the lions stood in line, making it just in time to catch some city culture before the exhibitions end!!! Novelists discussed the weather, while painters and musicians shyly promoted their ambitions but curious George was all the rage, while pedestrians took it in. Here’s the scoop!!!
BUSKIN & BATTEAU, singer-songwriter-soloists are back on the road again conjuring up a wide range of emotions ranging from lighthearted amusement to a gentle sense of loss expressed in their beautiful ballad, “Never Cry Wolf.” Versatile, funny, the B&B twosome are breathing new life into the genre of folk-pop and what a crowd-pleasing performance it is. Hear them tonight, Feb. 22, at The Metropolitan Room, 34 W. 22nd Street, 7 pm and come away transfixed and enthralled by their distinctive wit. 212.206.0440. Contact: www.buskinandbatteau.com.
American designer Tommy Hilfiger is launching a few initiatives. In addition to hosting the opening night’s “After Party” at his Fifth Avenue flagship store for the 2010 WHITNEY MUSEUM BIENNIAL, which opens to the public Feb. 25 Hilfiger has collaborated with artist Ari Marcopoulos and Whitney director, Adam D. Weinberg on a limited edition tote sold at the Whitney and the Hilfiger Fifth Avenue store for $98. Half the proceeds of the sales of the totes go back into the museum. The first 1,000 visitors on Feb. 27th will also be able to enter the Biennial FREE, courtesy of Hilfiger. www.whitneymuseum.org.
JAZZ GREATS, SPORTS STARS, POLITICIANS: The Historic District Council presents Addisleigh Park, the suburban community that was home to numerous major African-Americans including James Brown, Roy Campanella, W.E. B. DuBois, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Jackie Robinson and Ella Fitzgerald (to name a few). The event Tuesday, March 2nd is FREE and open to the public. Come and learn firsthand more about this historic neighborhood and storied past. HDC, 232 East 11th St. Reservations required. Contact: Kristen Moorish at 212.614.9107 or kmorith@hdc.org.
THE NEW YORKER marks its 85th anniversary with a special double issue on the newsstands, featuring four different covers from four New York artists. Each version is a play on the magazine’s icon, Eustace Tilley, with one cover, for example, showing a male model who comes to pose for the now famous character. Many of the old covers will be going on the road for a three-city Conde Nast tour starting at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, the Rome Cavalieri and Trianon Palace in Versailles. FREE exhibit. For the dates in New York contact: www.waldorfastoria.org.
JANE AUSTEN’S hitting the road come March 14 when the exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City, “JANE AUSTEN’S LIFE AND LEGACY IN NEW YORK CITY,” after a run decent run sadly comes to a close. Providing a close-up portrait of Austen, the exhibition achieves tangible intimacy with manuscripts and personal letters, plus a specially commissioned film of interview with contemporary authors commenting on Austen’s work and influence. Not to be missed, the exhibition reveals Austen’s characteristically sharp observations and irrepressible wit and explores why she and her writing continue to enthrall and inspire us nearly 200 years after her death. www.themorganmuseum.org.
Ta Ta darlings, I’m off to see Jane and then there’s Tommy and Count Basie to sneak peak too. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. And don’t forget to make a comment at any one of my Blogs: amazing artdecodivas and awakenyoursleepingbeauty. Both at Blogspot.com.

CULTURE AND CHIC IN THE BIG APPLE

By Polly Guerin

February 15, 2010

CULTURE AND CHIC IN THE BIG APPLE (C)

I never cared for Fashion, I find a trifle outré, but ‘tis a pity, not anyone can attend Fashion Week, where the models strut the runway and oh my pet there’s culture and chic in New York City. Vicariously sail away with the luxury ocean liner, the Normandie, at The Seaport Museum while the passing of time stands still at MOMA. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE NEW FRONT ROW OF FASHION: Not just ‘By Invitation’!!! Consumers’ appetite seems unquenchable to view the designer collections so the fashion intelligentsia expands access to the runway shows beyond the exclusive enclaves of Bryant Park with new digital initiatives for Fashion Week. Designers who will live stream their collections include Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Rodarte and Perry Ellis, while Oscar de la Renta, Tory Burch and Nanette Lepore are using Facebook, Twitter and their websites to update fashion followers on their shows. For continuous style coverage log on for runway videos, live tweets from the shows, model-morphois and much more at www.NYTIMES.com/TMAGAZINE.
ALL ABOARD!!! The new exhibit: “Decodence:Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers aboard the SS Normandie,” features the famed, ill-fated luxury liner’s furnishings and objet d’art created by the great Art Deco artists including Dupas, Lalique and Rhulmann. This rare opportunity to see the ‘floating palace’ of elegance includes the baby grand piano that Marlene Dietrich played, the exquisite Aubusson tapestry floral chairs and gleaming silver service from the Grand Salon. Unique artifacts include the original ‘Normandie Perfume’ by Patou and a clutch handbag in the shape of a small ocean liner created by the venerable house of Hermes. Photos of luminaries on display include Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Joseph Kennedy, Ernest Hemmingway and Walt Disney. Exhibit opens to the public February 18 and runs through January 2011, plenty of time to book passage at the South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St. www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org.
ACTION! DESIGN OVER TIME at the Museum of Modern Art presents some 85 examples of contemporary design objects that relate to the passing of time. Some of the objects in the exhibit embody frozen moments in time, whether crafted by hand (like Ingo Maurer’s Porca Miseria! Chandelier (1994), which is made of broken dishes) or crystallized by a computer using a digital manufacturing machine. Instead of a single moment, other featured objects capture entire life cycles. The design firm Freedom of Creation takes rapid manufacturing into the realm of textiles and Honeycomb Vase “Made by Bees” (2006) by Tomas Gabzdil Libertiny had forty thousand bees built the vase, layer by layer, in one week. www.moma.org. February 5-ongoing.
THE 185th Annual CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN ART debuts at the National Academy Museum & School of Fine Arts Feb. 17th-June 8 featuring the works of 65 emerging and established artists---all selected by a jury of National Academicians and spans the gamut from realism to abstraction, and included a mix of painting, sculpture, mixed media and installation art. www.nationalacademy.org. NA 1083 Fifth Ave.@ 89th St. 212.369.4880.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! Signing off as I am getting into shipshape to head for the South Street Seaport Museum and take in the luxuries and luminaries that sailed on the SS Normandie. Fan mail always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly Blogs: http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com and don’t miss http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS IN THE BIG APPLE

POLLYTALK FROM NEW YORK
FEBRUARY 8, 2010
By Polly Guerin

ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS

IN THE BIG APPLE

Happy Valentine’s Day! “May your heart’s desire be with you,” said Willy Shakespeare. And let’s not forget Esther Howland, the First Lady of Valentines in America who started the business of sending those sentimental frou frou valentine greetings that capture the hearts of one and all. So my dearest dear where shall we go by land or by sea to celebrate a deux? Here’s the Scoop!!!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day! Come aboard with your sweetheart for a gala evening of ocean liner elegance at the Art Deco Society of New York’s preview event featuring “Decodence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the S.S. Normandie on Valentine’s eve, Saturday, February 13th. Libations, hors d’oeuvres, festivity and romance await you at the South Sea Seaport Museum, where the swank and swell will be swaying to the music of Grandpa Musselman and his Syncopators. Noted ocean liner author and curator Bill Miller will guide us through the opulent “floating Palace” exhibit. ADSNY members $125, Guests $150. South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton Street. For more information call 212.679.DECO (3326). Email: kathrynhausman@artdeco.org.

Take a Gallic trip to W. 46th Street where LE RIVAGE on Restaurant Row, a charming bistro, takes you to the banks of the scene with vivid scenic oil paintings that surround the walls of the cozy restaurant while you dine with your sweetie. The Prix Fixe lunch is $22, including appetizer, entrée and dessert with coffee. Evening Prix Fixe is $37 with all the mentioned accoutrements and if you can dine at 8pm after the theatre crowd has left it’s a Prix Fixe at $25. The French cuisine is dished up by Chef Paul Denamiel and Marcel Denamiel may even greet you at the door. 340 W. 46 St., 212.765-7374 or www.lerivagenyc.com. Open 7 days a week.

If you desire a bit of the exotic, a gigantic BUDDHA dominates the Tao Restaurant where lunch is my favorite choice, but they serve dinner too. The Prix Fixe lunch is $24.07 including appetizer, my favorite is the dumplings, entrée, my favorite the soy ginger glazed salmon, and dessert, my favorite is the tangerine sorbet with fruit. Dinner is $38 from 5 to 7 in the evening. For entire menu viewing go to www.taorestaurant.com. Or call 212.888.2288.
It may still be a bit chilly but THE LOEB CENTRAL PARK BOATHOUSE restaurant affords a romantic view of the frozen lake, but be sure to get there early, there are no reservations for brunch/lunch from 9:30 to 4 pm, but reservations will be taken for Valentine’s night dinner, Prix Fixe at $75 per person, which is served from 6 to 9 pm. East 72nd Street and Park Drive North. 212.517.2233.

Well, Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to the Art Deco Society’s S.S. Normandie gala. Ship Ahoy!!! I’ll see you at the Seaport Museum on Valentine’s eve February 13. Fan mail goes to pollytalk@verizon.net, Blogs: www.amazingartdecodivas.com, www.thefashionhistorian, and www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty.blogspot.com.

ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS IN THE BIG APPLE

POLLYTALK FROM NEW YORK

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

By Polly Guerin

ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS IN THE BIG APPLE (C)

Happy Valentine’s Day! “May your heart’s desire be with you,” said Willy Shakespeare. And let’s not forget Esther Howland, the First Lady of Valentines in America who started the business of sending those sentimental frou frou valentine greetings that capture the hearts of one and all. So where shall we go my dearest dear, to celebrate a deux? Here’s the Scoop!!!

Take a Gallic trip to W. 46th Street where LE RIVAGE on Restaurant Row, a charming bistro, takes you to the banks of the scene with vivid scenic oil paintings that surround the walls of the cozy restaurant while you dine with your sweetie. The Prix Fixe lunch is $22, including appetizer, entrée and dessert with coffee. Evening Prix Fixe is $37 with all the mentioned accoutrements and if you can dine at 8pm after the theatre crowd has left it’s a Prix Fixe at $25. The French cuisine is dished up by Chef Paul Denamiel and Marcel Denamiel may even greet you at the door. 340 W. 46 St., 212.765-7374 or www.lerivagenyc.com. Open 7 days a week.

If you desire a bit of the exotic, a gigantic BUDDHA dominates the Tao Restaurant where lunch is my favorite choice, but they serve dinner too. The Prix Fixe lunch is $24.07 including appetizer, my favorite is the dumplings, entrée, my favorite the soy ginger glazed salmon, and dessert, my favorite is the tangerine sorbet with fruit. Dinner is $38 from 5 to 7 in the evening. For entire menu viewing go to www.taorestaurant.com. Or call 212.888.2288.

It may still be a bit chilly but THE LOEB CENTRAL PARK BOATHOUSE restaurant affords a romantic view of the frozen lake, but be sure to get there early, there are no reservations for brunch/lunch from 9:30 to 4 pm, but reservations will be taken for Valentine’s night dinner, Prix Fixe at $75 per person, which is served from 6 to 9 pm. East 72nd Street and Park Drive North. 212.517.2233.

Take a journey to the stars at TOP OF THE STRAND rooftop Lounge & bar on the 21st floor of The Strand, midtown’s new boutique-style hotel, boasting stellar views of the Empire State Building and the glorious sunset. Open 5pm to midnight weekdays and until l am on weekends serving the usual libations, concoctions and excellent assortment of beers. A Fish Called Avalon is the hip new sister to the popular Miami Beach seafood grille of the same name with indoor garden seating. 33 W. 37th St. 212.448.1024 or at the web http://www.thestrandnyc.com/.

Well, Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m off to the Beekman Towers skytop restaurant at the Beekman Towers Hotel (49St. & First Ave), where I’ll be sipping cocktails as New York City lights up in a blaze of lights and then we’ll dine a deux at a table that overlooks the spectacular view. Fan mail goes to pollytalk@verizon.net, Blogs: www.amazingartdecodivas.com. www.thefashionhistorian.com and for beauty advice from a sage visit: www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty.blogspot.com.

CULTURAL PLEASURES IN THE BIG APPLE

POLLYTALK FROM NEW YORK

By Polly Guerin
February 1, 2010

CULTURAL PLEASURES IN THE BIG APPLE (c)

What all this talk about cultural pleasures? Really, anyone would say to see our modern dramas that the upper-class spent their days in cultural pursuits and pyjamas. Victorian ladies crafted photocollages, women singers perform, Lord Wedgewood presents at tea and Quebec celebrates with a Winter Carnival. Dear me, fair beauties are not the only charm, raise classes salute the lot. Here’s the scoop!!!
Need a hobby? “PHOTOCOLLAGES Reveal Wit and Whimsy of the Victorian Era” when aristocratic Victorian women had the time and inclination to indulge their fancy and creativity in the little known phenomenon ‘photocollages,’ which occupied their leisure pastime. Whimsical and fantastical Victorian photocollages, created using a combination of watercolor drawings and cut-and-pasted photographs, reveal the educated minds as well as the accomplished hands of their makers. With subjects as varied as new theories of evolution, the changing role of photography, and the strict conventions of aristocratic society, the photocollages frequently debunked stuff Victorian clichés with surreal, subversive, and funny images. PLAYING WITH PICITURES; THE ART OF VICTORIAN PHOTOCOLLAGE, on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 9th is the first exhibition to comprehensively examine this little-known phenomenon. http://www.metmuseum.org/.
TEA WITH LORD WEDGEWOOD

All this nostalgic Victorian craze takes me out of town. Pardon me if I skip down to Washington, DC to take afternoon tea with Lord Wedgewood this weekend at the historic Willard hotel. A Victoria Magazine sponsored event, Celebrating 250 Years of Innovation and Artistry, I’ll be taking a private tour of the Wedgewood exhibition at the Daughters of the American Revolution National Headquarters. Mon Dieu! Are any of those daughters still around? Nonetheless, it’s interesting to note that Queen Charlotte (1765) graciously allowed Wedgewood to style himself as ‘Potter to her Majesty.’ www.victoriamagazine.org l.888.411.8995.
WOMEN SING ROMANTIC SONGS

Women take center stage, just in time to set the mood for Valentine’s Day, “WITH A SONG IN MY HEART.” Romantic songs, arias and ensembles are sung by the Professional Women’s Singers Association featuring works by Bizet, Mozart, Puccini, Sondheim, Strauss and Verdi to name a few. Twenty-two of the organization’s members will sing works drawn from the operatic and music theatre canon, and reflecting on the many facets of love and romance. Among the singers is my favorite, Leslie Middlebrook, but all the other stellar performers deserve their just due. Too numerous to list them all you can check the concert roster at www.womensingers.org. Marijo Newman at the piano, directed by Richard Getke. A joyful evening on February 7th at 7pm at Christ and St. Stephens Church, 120 West 69th St.

QUEBEC WINTER CARNIVAL
We’ve had our share of snow but the QUEBEC WINTER CARNIVAL (Canada) is such fun!!! It’s the largest winter festival in the world and the Canadian’s version of a snowman, Bon Homme with his red beret, greets us with a grand medieval-inspired Ice Palace, built with more than 250 tons of ice and illuminated with thousands of multicolored lights. Outdoor dance parties, a parade, sleigh rides, snow-rafting and an elegant ball keep us on our toes from morning to night. Delicieuse, the Quebec restaurants offer world-class dining. Don’t miss the International Snow Sculpture event. Jan. 29-Feb. 14. www.carnaval.qc.ca.
Ta Ta, my darlings. I’m taking Amtrak to DC and take tea with Lord Wedgewood and tell all in my next column. Fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net. Blogs: http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com , http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty.