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

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

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

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.