POLLYTALK FROM NEW YORK by Polly Guerin May 27, 2008
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: IT'S A WONDERFUL TOWN
"New York New York It's a Wonderful Town, the Bronx is Up and the Batteries' Down, the People Live in a Hole in the Ground," as Leonard Bernstein's memorable musical proclaimed New York is indeed a wonderful town. As we see the starched whites parading the streets, Fleet Week's Navy and tourists take double-decker tours to sightsee, and experience the restaurants and nightlife. Amid all the merriment New York's summer party goes on with plenty to do this week.
Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute presents a comic-worthy show peppered with real action figures that portray as Andrew Bolton, curator said "how the superhero is overarching metaphor for fashion, sharing its obsession with the body, identity and transformation." The exhibition includes movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high-performance sportswear to reveal how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor of fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body. Keynote speaker, Giorgio Armani said, "Fashion, like the superhero, allows you to dream and escape into a world of unfettered imagination." Gotta Go Girl cause Oh Boy it's a fantastic venue. www.metmuseum.org.
PS: Don't miss American artist Jeff Koons installation of whimsical sculptures on the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Till Oct. 26.
Gallery hopping and summer in the city brings us to the Western Chelsea's A.I.R. (Artists in Residence) gallery where emerging artists take center stage with Anita Ragusa's New York, Ann Pachner's "No Thing," drawings and prints, and Leslie Kneisel's Adventures in the Land of Karata, Opening reception Thursday, May 29th from 6-8 PM. Exhibit till June 21. 511 W. 25th St. www.airgallery.org. Check it out, go earlier in the day and press on through the Chelsea galleries to Tibor de Nagy's historic show of Jess, Marlborough's Hunt Slonem serial painting of birds and saints, and Darina Karpov's science-fiction-y landscapes at Pierogi 2000 to name a few. Download a FREE 48-page ADAA (Art Dealers Association of America) guide at www.artdealers.org.
MOMA's "Take Your Time" exhibit of Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson takes you on a journey of light at both their New York location and at P.S. l in Queens. Either place take a color lift and immerse yourself in amazing color through Olafur's room-size installations such as his circular "360" room for all colors. www.moma.org.
"Arbiters of Style: Women in the Forefront of Fashion," at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, pays homage to a lineup of 50 "Tastemakers," the fashion cognoscenti, designers, muses, clientele, magazine editors who shaped the course of style over the past 250 years. Diana Vreeland, super editor and style icon during her Vogue days said it all, "Fashion must be the most intoxicating release from the banality of the world." Other notables include Carolina Herrera, Coco Chanel, Denise Poiret and Claire McCardell. Till Nov. 8. Corner 7th Ave. at 27th St. FREE www.fitnyc.edu/museum.
Here's the Fashion Scoop: C'N'C Costume National designer Ennio Capasa has come up the chic and portable Solar Bag, in which fine strips of mini solar panels provide power to a supply concealed in the lining of the handbag to recharge your BlackBerry or iPhone. Check it out. www.costumenational.com.
Takashi Murakami is popping up in Brooklyn Museum's retrospective of the internationally acclaimed, contemporary Japanese artist's big bold humorous, cartoonistic, and flashy paintings, sculptures, and animation that entertains and may sometimes offend. But really guys you've got to see this to believe it. The child in us all will love it. Murakami blends the bright palette of pop, the flatness of anime, and the ominous dreams of surrealism in monumental works. Till July 13.