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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.