FASHIONABLE VENUES BRIGHTEN JANUARY'S CHILL (c) By Polly Guerin

By Hermann Max Pechstein

The winter chill may tempt you to stay indoors but nothing cheers up the doldrums than fashion and art, and there are exhibits and events to attend worth bracing the cold to warm up your cultural pursuits. Here’s the scoop!!!

GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM 1900-1930: Masterpieces from the Neue Galerie Collection. Prized works in this exhibition examines themes of primitivism and modernity, two poles of expressionism that artists employed to free themselves from the academic conventions of the nineteenth century. The engagement of these artists with the zeitgeist of the early 20th century in Germany led them to paint emotionally charged, often contrasting scenes. On display are cabaret and circus culture, as well as cityscapes of lonely, alienating Berlin Streets by artists including Max Beckmann, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Klee, Franz Marc and many others. Pictured here: Young Woman with Red fan by Hermann Max Pechstein, ca. 1910. Also on view are over 100 works of German and Austrian decorative arts from Los Angeles-base attorney and collector Harry C. Sigman representing the work of a wide range of German pioneers. Neue Galerie, Museum for German and Austrian Art, 1048 Fifth Ave, at 86th St. Feb. 7-April 22, 2013.

59th WINTER ANTIQUE SHOW Celebrates the Preservation Society of Newport County. Newport: The Glamour of Ornament showcases fine and decorative art from eight of the historic Newport Mansions: The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms, Rosecliff, Chateau-sur-Mer, Kingscote, Hunter House and Chepstow. The swell of Newport’s “cottages” had the desire and means to commission grand houses with ornate interiors—deliberate stage sets for their glamorous social lives. The Glamour of Ornament features more than 60 exquisite objects including a stunning silk brocade evening gown (circa 1890) with an 18-inch waist by “the father of haute couture,” Charles Frederick Worth. Furniture by historic cabinet makers includes John Goddard and sculptures by Gaston Lachaise. Stunning is a full length painting of Elizabeth Drexel Lehr by Giovanni Boldini, which usually hangs in The Elm’s ballroom. At the Park Avenue Armory, 67th Street and Park Avenue through February 3rd. Daily admission to the show is $20, which includes the Show’s award-winning catalogue. Hours 12pm-8pm, except Sundays and Thursday, 12pm-6pm.

CINEMATUESDAYS: The French Institute Alliance Francaise, Cinema Tuesdays turns to fashion THE MAN MAKES THE CLOTHES: PIERRE CARDIN IN FILM, celebrates Italian- born French designer Pierre Cardin, a fashion pioneer known for futuristic designs, bright colors, and an entrepreneur’s spirit. Over his prolific seven-decade career, the superstar revolutionized women’s fashion, brought fashion to postwar Japan, and pioneered fashion in China. Cardin also applied his talent and space-age aesthetic to costume design for more than a dozen film and television productions. Now FIAF presents a collection of his greatest costumes captured on film including Beauty and the Beast (1946) and Louis Malle’s Viva Maria! (1965), starring Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau. At Florence Gould Hall and Tinker Auditorium, 55 East 59th Street, between Madison and Park Avenue. Free for FIAF members, non-members $10.

FASHION AND TECHNOLOGY at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology investigates the impact of emerging technologies on the nature of fashion design and production with an array of more than 100 garments, accessories and textiles spanning 250 years. The exhibit considers how technological advancements from sewing machines to synthetic dyes to online shopping have influenced clothing design and productions. Highlights include a seamless Pierre Cardin dress from 29768 made with moldable “Cardine” fabric and a Balenciaga dress designed by Nicolas Ghesquiere that combines cutting-edge materials and traditional couture techniques. AT The Museum at FIT, 27TH Street and Seventh Avenue, through May 8. FREE Hours Tues.-Fri., noon-8pm, Sat., 10am-5pm.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! German Expressionism is worth the trip uptown and then of course there is the Café Sabarsky for afternoon tea. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.

FASHIONABLE NEW YORK, GLAMOROUS OPENINGS (c) By Polly Guerin

Roger Vivier (Bruno Frisoni) Eyelash Heel Pump 

Fashion’s glamour and glitz is on the agenda this week. From the art of perfume, to shows and fashionable females it’s all about style and function in venues and museum openings. Here’s the scoop!!!.

SHOE OBSESSION, an exhibition that examines our fascination with extravagant and fashionable shoes, features approximately 150 examples of contemporary footwear by established and up-and-coming designers alike, highlights the extreme, lavish, and imaginative styles that made shoes the most coveted fashion accessory today.. The show at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, examines how such high-end labels as Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Pierre Hardy and Roger Vivier went from cladding the feet of wealthy fashion insiders to being fetishized by the masses. Credit or blame, some say, goes to “Sex and the City” for ushering in this change, which had led to many women to revise their notion of what’s too high—with regard to both price and heels. Photo by Stephane Garrigues. Opens February 8 through April 12, 2013. At Seventh Avenue at 27th Street. FREE.

IMPRESSIONISM, FASHION AND MODERNITY Opens in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, after a successful run at Paris’s Musee d’Orsay, explores the dynamic between art and la mode from the 1860s to the 1890s, when Paris became the style capital of the world. The show includes period accessories, fashion plates, photographs, popular prints and clothing. Albert Bartholome’s exquisite traditional wedding portraiture, “In the Greenhouse” (c. 1881) depicting the artist’s wife, Perie, combines the studied pose and styling of a traditional portrait with the vibrant palette and painterly brushstrokes of impressionism. When she died six years later her husband kept her purple and white dress and took of sculpture, the medium for which he is now best know. Through May 27th.

THE ART OF THE SCENT 1889-2012 Surveys the art of perfume since the introduction of synthetic molecules expanded the possibilities of the medium through twelve renowned fragrances including Chanel No.5 and L’Eau d'Issey. While it is said the scent of a woman is as significant as the fashion she wears, each work of “olfactory art” is presented here individually, dispersed with special machines to preserve its essence and stripped of its commercial trappings. To illustrate the complex process of creating a perfume, the show traces the development of Lancôme’s Tresor from written brief to final product. At the Museum of Arts and Design at Columbus Circle through Feb. 24.

FEMALE, FASHIONABLE, NEW YORK at MOCA Style brings together three women in the fashion industry from different perspectives to explore the behind-the-scenes of their worlds and how they intersect. It features Mary Ping from Slow and Steady Wins the Race and Jade Lai from Creatures of Comfort. Moderated by Christina Moon the show reveals how being an Asian American woman in the fashion industry in New York can at times be one of the most glamorous roles one can embody. What is less seen is the daily struggle to survive one of the most competitive cut-throat fields in the world. At the Museum of Chinese in America, 125 Centre Street. The program, January 24 at 7pm is FREE and open to the public, courtesy of Target.

THE METRO SHOW at the Metropolitan Pavilion. Not only will fair-goers enjoy casting their eyes on a diverse arrange of fine and decorative arts, from primitive through contemporary, they will also have the opportunity to get even more up-close-and-intime with those subjects through METRO Dialogues---the educational series, consisting of lectures, panel discussions and conversations with curators, collectors, artists, gallerists, and other cultural contributors; guided tours of the fair conducted by art and design world professionals; and lively ART talks with exhibitors and artists on the show floor. Through Jan 27 in Chelsea.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! My favorite venue is The Art of the Scent!!! Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.

MUSEUM TREASURES on a Smaller Scale (c) By Polly Guerin

While tourists and die hard New Yorkers seems to flock to the great museums, we also have an abundance of smaller museums that are often overlooked. Why not plan a day to take in the exhibitions, where your space is not invaded and you have all the time to enjoy the collections without the jostling crowds. Here’s the Scoop!!!

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MATHEMATICS Can mathematics be fun? You bet and Glen Whitney has come up with a formula to prove it. Mr. Whitney, a mathematician and former hedge-fund algorithm manager, raised $22 million to create The National Museum of Mathematics, nicknamed MoMath---it opened recently on East 26th Street facing Madison Square Park. It’s a museum full of surprises, the ideal venue for study and entertainment for young mathematicians and anyone who is fascinated with a world that tests you imagination. Tricycles will roll on square wells, clear plastic cubes, will reveal hexagonal cross-sections and little cars on movable racetrack will reach their destinations on routes that are not straight. The centerpiece of the museum is the columned structure called the Matenaeum, where you approach what looks like a crystal ball, and design your own three dimensional shapes. Visitors discover new things every day. Tickets purchased online cost $15 adults and $9 for children, students and seniors.                                                                                                                                                                        
ROOMS OF WONDER, from Wunderkammer to Museum, 1599-1899 at The Grolier Club. In the 16th Century, European collectors filled special room or cabinets with miscellaneous conglomerations of items, including paintings and drawings; plant specimens; animals (including monstrosities); shells and coral; fossils, coins and medals; gold and silver objects, musical and scientific instruments and automata; the occasional Egyptian mummy and other rare and curious artifacts. Many of these “Cabinets of Curiosities” or Wunderkammer were put together by physicians, botanists and apothecaries—they were a status symbol, celebrating the wealth and intellectual power of their owners. Some of the most famous ones, for example were owned by nobles in the Medici and Hapsburg dynasties, and one the greatest Wunderkammers was formed by Peter the Great of Russia. Proud owners of Wunderkammers published elaborate illustrated catalogs to document their collection, which often ended up from private venues in public museums. At The Grolier Club, 47 East 60th street, through Feb. 2.                                                                                                                                                
CENTER FOR THE HISTORY OF COLLECTING is an institution even more rarefied than any of the great museums. It is actually part of The Frick Museum, which is another wonderful oasis of serenity in a busy city. Most of the interest here is in the form of auction catalogues and photographic reproductions and for the serious collector it is a treasure trove of information. The Center for the History of Collection are organizing a symposia involving banks as collectors---from the Medici’s to the Rockefellers including a cast of other notables, the Lehmans, Morgans and Rothchilds. The Center’s most important function is as a repository for images and records about collectors, dealers and specific works of art, going back hundreds of years and the Center has started an oral history project in which collectors are interviewed.  At the Frick Art Reference Library, 10 E. 71st St., 212.547.0641.                                                                              
THE MUSEUM OF RECLAIMED URBAN SPACE, MoRus,  A shrine to the East Village struggle, has been erected as something of a homage to the drama that ensued around throughout the 80s and 90s. The museum opened last month, offering tours, discussions and artwork about the neighborhood’s semi-recent radical history. Eric Drooker, the artists behind some of the most iconic images of the East Village’s era as a squatter’s haven, was on hand recently to relived some bygone moments. There were thousands of hard-core punk-rock shows there---it’s a place that has leveled off from the days when there were shooting alleys for crack addicts. Drawings by the artist Fly, of former squatters, also presented and shared stories. Parties, riots and relationships can be relived here, that is if you’re up to recalling those turbulent days. At C-Squat, 155 Avenue C, between 9th and 10th streets. www.morus.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m off to visit the Cabinet of Curiosities at the Grolier Club, shouldn’t you? Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.

CULTURAL VENUES WARM UP THE CHILL OF WINTER (c) By Polly Guerin

New York serves up a bounty of cultural venues to warm the chill of winter. Step inside and visit museum treasures and exhibitions to stir your imagination and cultivate your muse. Here’s the scoop!!!
GEORGE BELLOWS Here’s one for the men!!! Regarded in his day as one of America’s greatest artists, George Bellows (1882-1925) is remembered for his powerful depictions of boxing matches and New York City tenement life. He also painted seascapes, war scenes and portraits and his lithographs and illustrations addressed social, political and cultural issues. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is featuring some 120 works from his extensive oeuvre and invites the viewer to experience the dynamic and challenging decades of the early 20th century through the eyes of a this brilliant observer. His candid portrayals of Maine’s rugged coast, boxers in the ring, the atrocities of World War I, friends and family, and other distinctive themes are on view through February 18th.
CIRCUS and the CITY: NEW YORK, 1730-2010 Explores how the vibrant urban landscape of New York City contributed to the emergence of the circus as a popular form of entertainment and the unique contribution of the Big Apple to the circus becoming a leading cultural phenomenon in the United States. The circus arrived in New York City through the tunnels and streets intermingling with urban life. It left an indelible mark in the memories of the city dwellers. More than 200 works on loan from thirty-one collections evoke the wonder and spectacle of the circus and demonstrate why it has captivated audiences for more than two centuries. The lecture Jan 10th: A History of Circus Clowning explores the reciprocal relationships between clowns and their culture. AT Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design, History at 18 West 86th St. Trough Feb. 3.
INVENTING ABSTRATION: 1910-1925 MoMA explores the advent of abstraction as both a historical idea and an emergent artistic practice with an exhibition of more than 350 artworks in a broad range of mediums—including paintings, drawings, prints, book, photographs, recordings and dance pieces—that represent a radical moment when the ruses of art making were fundamentally transformed. A key premise of the exhibition is abstraction’s role as a cross-media practice from the start. This notion is illustrated through an exploration of the productive relationships between artist, composers, dancers, and poets in establishing a new modern language for the arts. Trough April 15 at The Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53 St.
FANTASY and INVENTION: Rosso Fiorentino. The emergence of Mannerism in Florentine Renaissance art, as exemplified by the brilliant painter Rosso Fiorentino, is the subject of a new exhibition which runs through February 3 at the Morgan. The show includes the artist’s extraordinary painting, Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, as well as a selection of drawings printed books, letters and manuscripts by other Florentine masters. Using the Holy Family as a starting point, Fantasy and Invention traces the Florentine iteration of Mannerism through some 20 drawings from the Museum’s collection: five autograph documents and letters from leading artists of the day, including Michelangelo. At Madison Avenue, between 36 and 37th streets.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! There are so many rich cultural choices this week! Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.