SUMMER DIVERSIONS SIZZLE IN NYC(c) By Polly Guerin

Summer in New York City sets the wheels in motion for cool treats and summer delights from music to lunch hour exhibits and serious reading. Here's the scoop!!!
MOMA’S SCULPTURE GARDEN Chill out and take a summertime break and while away the hours in a Summergarden. Music returns to MOMA’s Sculpture Garden with annual FREE entertainments that make summer in the city cool as a breeze for four Sunday evenings beginning July 8th. A tradition since 1971, Summergarden is part of MOMA’s long history of presenting contemporary classical music in collaboration with The Juilliard School and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Members of the New Juilliard ensemble, under the artistic direction of Joel Sachs, perform on July 8 and 22, offering two distinctive programs of contemporary compositions, all of which are receiving their New York premiere. Jazz at Lincoln Center has selected two leading jazz groups whose concerts on July 15 (Yosvany Terry Quintet) and July 29 (Vijah Lyer Trio) emphasize original works, each with one world premiere. Arrive early for best seating. Doors open at 7 p.m., concerts begin at 8 p.m. MOMA at 11 West 53rd Street.
LUNCH HOUR NYC Chill out at the NYPL!!! Work-obsessed, time-obsessed, and in love with ingenious new ways to make money, New York City reinvented lunch in its own image. Experience the story of the clamor and chaos of lunchtime in New York in the New York Public Library’s new FREE exhibition, Lunch Hour NYC in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 42nd St. main branch. The exhibition, which includes more than 200 item, focuses on different types of lunchtime experiences, from early power brokers inventing what they didn’t yet call the “power lunch” to local charities establishing a three-cent school lunch to visitors with guidebooks thronging Times Square to eat lunch at the Automat. Highlights include caricatures from the walls of Sardi’s, the celebrated restaurant in the theater district to selection from the Library’s world-renowned menu and cookbook collections. Don’t miss a restored section of an original Automat. June 22-Feb. 17, 2013 and after the exhibition be sure to stop by Fishs Eddy pop-up gift stop in Astor Hall.
RESORT FASHIONS The formality of fashion collections marked Resort 2012-13 lets designers focus primarily on the clothes without worrying about the grander aspects of megashows which take place under the tents in Damrosch Park Spring and Fall and it gives designers to take liberties, and often on their own terms to present elsewhere. All the resort presentations took place during the first two weeks of June which continues to end of June and if you have been watching the newspaper reports the fashions featured gives you a good idea of what to expect for next summer. Diana von Furstenberg turned her resort collection into a cross country tour, New York skyscrapers, Elvis and the California sky influenced the cloths including a dress in a hot-air balloon print.
MERCI, CHANEL A note of information and entreaty to well-intentioned mis-users of the Chanel trademark. “Although our style is justly famous, a jacket is not ‘a Chanel jacket’ unless it is produced by Chanel, Inc. And please don’t use such tributes as “Chanel-issime, Chanel-ed, Chanels and Chanel-ized.’ Please Don’t, our lawyers positively detest them.
!ARCHITECTURE LAID BARE Author Robert Brown Butler wants to set the record straight and describes how you can better your life with better architecture in a 458-page reference that includes rich drawings. In the chapter ‘Shades of Green,’ he further explains green architecture and gives advice on how to articulate your architectural aspirations more clearly, reducing hours of paid consultation. A layman’s book it is a ‘must read’ for would be home owners. Check out his website architecturelaidbare Available on Amazon.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’ll see you in the Summergarden at MOMA. Fan mail welcome www.pollytalk.com. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the link to the Blog that interests you including subjects on fashion to poetry and visionary men.

INTO THE DEEP, BREWING CULTURE and SERENITY(c) By Polly Guerin

Man bait seems to be in New York’s cultural venue this week. Game fisherman and ladies need go no further than NYC to adventure into the deep, or drink of the popular Brew, revisit the Triangle Fire and end up in the serenity of water lily gardens at the NYBG. Here’s the scoop!!!
STANLEY MELTZOFF: OCEAN AND OTHER WORLDS No need to go to the aquarium. Giants of the Deep are the subject of the world’s finest game fish and sport painter, Stanley Meltzoff’s one-man show at the Museum of American Illustration in New York City. This celebrated artist opened the frontier beneath the surface of the seas bringing to life breathtaking images of striped bass, bluefish, sailfish and other exotic species seemingly swim out of the painting into visual view with lifelike wonder. PHOTO CREDIT: Stanley Meltzoff, Black Marlin 9, Marin and Trevally 1989. He learned how to paint his seascapes as a diver and recorded salt water game fish, cataloging them at a time when both the oceans and these spectacular fish are fast disappearing. The fish painter honed his skills and produced works for major magazines including Scientific American, Field & Stream, Life and National Geographic. On view are original paintings from the artist’s estate (Meltzoff 1917-2006) through August 18th at the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd St., open to the public FREE of charge on Tues. 10-8; Wed.-Fri., 10 am-5 pm; Sat. 12-4 pm. 212.838.25760.
IN PURSUIT OF GIANTS, a new book by Matt Rigney, with his love for sport fishing, coincidentally addresses the subject of these great fish that are fast disappearing. Rigney covers the causes including commercial fishing and industrial methods which take the sport out of it drastically depleting stocks. With romantic reverie he records, “With switchblade fins and tails able to propel them 70 miles per hour, they course through the dark tides, unseen, the last truly great fish of our oceans in time will disappear.” Published by Viking, $26.95.
BEER HERE: BREWING NEW YORK’S HISTORY…and a bar in the NYHS, New York Historical Society’s museum ought to send beer aficionados to the exhibit that extols the long tradition in New York of brewing and drinking beer and a bar has been created in the gallery. After ambling though a history that begins in the 17th century to the present, by way of 14 present-day local brews offered to taste. In Colonial days beer was safer than water and during the Revolutionary War, troops received beer with their rations. The temperance movement that led to Prohibition from 1920-33, gets its due coverage as does the election of “Miss Rheingold “in the 40s and 60s when a series of bombshells courted the votes from posters in subway trains. So drink and be merry tapping into beer history at NYHS, 77th Street and Central Park West.
TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE: THEN, SINCE, NOW an exhibition by the Fashion Institute of Technology’s graduate students takes us back again with a visual interpretation of the Triangle Factory Fire in 1911, its impact, and its aftermath in works executed in gouache, oil paint, clay sculpture, collage, and digital media. FREE open to the public at the Museum at FIT, 27th St. and 7th Ave. Tues.-Fri. noon to 8pm, Sat. 10-5 pm.
MONET EVENINGS FEATURE WATER LILY CONCERTS The New York Botanical Garden invites you to enjoy a complimentary specialty cocktail while viewing Monet’s Garden in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. This re-creation of Claude Monet’s idyllic garden in Giverny, France, features evocative set pieces depicting Monet’s Grade Allee and iconic footbridge surrounded by willow trees, bamboo groves. Monet’s most famous subject, water lilies, grace the Conservatory courtyard pools. Relax on the Conservatory lawn and listen to music July 19, August 16 or Sept. 22. Light picnic fare available for purchase and a cash bar available. Make the evening a night to remember. Take the Metro North train from Grand Central to the NYBG.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Oceans and Other Worlds is a ‘must see’ exhibit. It’s breathtaking imagery of the great giants of the deep. Fan mail welcome pollytalk@verizon.net. For Polly’s Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the left hand column click on the links to poetry, fashion or amazing women determined to succeed.

ACTIVISM, MUSIC and THEATRICAL HIGH JINKS(c) By Polly Guerin

New York invites you to particpate in the wonderful world of cultural activism, music surround, theatrical high jinks and a host of entertainments this week.  Here's the scoop!!!

DAHESH MUSEUM OF ART one of the little museum treasures in New York has relocated its Museum Gift Shop and offices to the heart of Hudson Square, an exciting new neighborhood—a stone’s throw from Soho to be where the trendy action is today, close to the people who work there and live in the area, and the tourists who visit daily. During its 17 year history, the Dahesh Museum of Art presented over 45 thematic exhibitions, with accompanying publications that championed the rich diversity of 19th and early 19th century European Academic Art, as well as its impact on artistic training, art making and collecting in Europe and the United States. For 4 years the Museum has functioned as a museum-without-walls, developing and traveling exhibitions within the United States and aboard. As the Museum continues to look for a building to serve as its permanent home, it plans pop-up spaces in NYC, and display of select works from its collection in the new Gift Shop and salon space. 145 Sixth Ave. at Dominick St. Info Tel: 212.759.0606.
MIS(s) TRIAL BY JURY an affectionate and very silly (per)version of the Gilbert & Sullivan favorite is an awesome piece of parody by Gaspump Productions takes it bow this Thursday, June 14 at 7:30 pm at the historic Players Club at 16 Gramercy Park South. From Act I, The (hilarious) auditions to Act II The production that results when you have a lot of amazing (in a good way) women and a lot of equally amazing (in a…les good way) men available. The Cast, a group of talented thespians, includes Leslie Middlebrook Moore, Eric Peterson, Carol Davis, Alan Abrams to name a few. Reservations: 212.879.1049. All tickets $20.00.
ACTIVIST NEW YORK, the first-of-its kind exhibition on social activism in the Museum of the City of New York’s Puffin Foundation Gallery, examines the ways in which ordinary New Yorkers have advocated, agitated, and exercised their power to shape the city’s—and the nation’s-future. Centuries of activist efforts, representing the full spectrum of political ideologies, are illuminated through a series of installations featuring 14 New York movements ranging from mid-17th century to today. Activism New York begins with the struggle for religious tolerance in Dutch New Netherlands to today’s debate over a Muslim Cultural Center near Ground Zero. Other themes include What has New York to do with Slavery? Woman Suffrage, Upheaval of the Garment Trades, Preserving Historical New York and Civil Rights for Gays and Lesbians. A series of touch screens present the timeline history of activism. In addition, members of the public may submit photographs of contemporary activist in the city to a photo blog housed on the Museum’s MCNY website (www.mcny) and carried live on a huge screen in the gallery. At 103/104th Street & Fifth Ave.
PHILHARMONIC 360 Prepare yourself for a musical experience unlike any you’ve ever heard. One where space, music and the extraordinary sonorities of the 55,000 square foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall at Park Avenue Armory combine to literally envelop you in sound. Conductor Alan Gilbert will lead you on a journey through centuries of spatial music, from the party scene of Mozart’s Don Giovanni to the sonic trip that is Stockhausen’s Gruppen. This one of a kind musical experience takes place on Friday, June 29 & Saturday June 30 at 8pm. For tickets call: 212.875.5656.
Ta Ta Darlings, Social Activism at MCNY is a ‘must see’ exhibit and a chance to make your own statement by posting a photo, carried live on the huge screen. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the direct link to Polly’s Blogs on fashion, visionary men or poetry.

STAGED ROOMS AND GRAPHIC DESIGN VENUES(c) By Polly Guerin

               Manhattan is a buzz with design inspiration from a Decorator Show House to graphic design on an island and music in a great hall, these are the wonderful venues that make New York the center of the cultural universe. Here’s the scoop!!!

KIPS BAY DECORATOR SHOW HOUSE, 40th Anniversary launches an exciting new chapter by breaking the tradition of presenting the decorator show in a tony uptown town house, and has moved the show to the Aldyn, the two stunningly modern high-rise spaces on Riverside Boulevard, between 62nd and 63rd Streets, overlooking the Hudson River. Not only is the new space worth visiting for the sheer enjoyment of seeing decorator concepts at their best, for the public viewer, the show is a treasure trove of inspiration. The 30-some designers did not disappoint. My favorite is the Writing Room by Chuck Fischer Studio Inc. He pulled the desk off the wall and opened the room up with peachy terra-cotta walls and neat idea; he hid the big white AC unit behind a folding screen. Alexander Doherty Design is a proponent of hanging paintings salon-style, 11 exactly, in new ways of living with and hanging art. The show house is open to June 14, Mon., Wed., Fri. & Sat. from 11-5 pm, Tues. & Thurs. 11-8pm, and Sun. 12-5pm. The show house benefits the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. 212.755.5733.
GRAPHIC DESIGN—NOW IN PRODUCTION at Governors Island through Sept. 3, 2012 is co-organized by the Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and the Walker Art Center to explore some of the most vibrant graphic design work produced since 2000. Just hop on the free Governors Island ferry, which departs from the Batter Maritime Building at 10 South Street. It’s a mere 7 minute ride and just as you disembark to the right is the entrance to the exhibition. Graphic Design is yet another challenge to educate, inspire and present the worlds of design-driven magazines, newspapers, books and posters, the expansion of branding programs for corporations, institutions and subcultures. The ambitious presentation looks at the cutting edge and breaking cultural design in the 21st century and insight into the phenomena shaping culture today. FREE
ART OF ANOTHER KIND: International Abstraction and The Guggenheim, 1949-1960 explores international trends in abstraction in the decade before the Guggenheim’s iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building opened in October 1959, when vanguard artists working in the United States and Europe pioneered such influential art forms as Abstract Expressionism, Cobra and Art Informel. Comprising approximately 100 works by nearly 70 artists, the exhibition represents works by Karel Appel, Louis Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning, Isamu Noguchi, Jackson Pollock, Zao Wou-Ki , among others. Abstract Expressionism encompasses a diverse range of postwar American painting that challenged the tradition of vertical easel painting. Pollock for one placed his canvases on the floor to pour, drip, and splatter paint onto them. Other painters eliminated the gestural stroke altogether. Rothko used large planes of color, often to express universal human emotions and inspire a sense of awe for a secular world. Opens June 8th to September 12, 2012. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. guggenheim.org/anotherkind
BIG APPLE BARBECUE BLOCK PARTY at Madison Square Park will be bursting with the aroma of Barecuin’ribs, racks and rubs brought to you by 18 of the countries preeminent pit masters on Saturday and Sunday, June 8 & 10th. It’s a one-of-a-kind New York City experience. Check this out you can support the Park and skip the lines with a limited-run Mad. Sq. Park Passes! For price information contact info call: 212.528.1884
Ta Ta darlings!!! Take the trip to Governors Island ferry and whizz over to see Graphic Design, you’ll be glad you. Fan mail welcome pollytalk@verizon.net and visit Polly’s Blogs on the Internet at www.pollytalk.com and in the left hand column click on the Blog that interests you.