Waking up this Friday I wasn’t
particularly excited to be walking around because the weather called for rain
all day, but I decided I had to suck it up and make the best out of the
situation. After meeting in Penn Station we made our way to Times Square. While
making out way to Times Square we walked in the pedestrian zones. These zones
allowed us to walk freely without having to worry about cars passing by. The
zones were separated into different lanes one was for walking and the other for
bikes. You would want to make sure not to walk in the bike path because as we
have learned in previous classes we know how vicious bikers can be. In the
pedestrian zones there were also table and chairs set up that people could sit
at and enjoy lunch on a nice day, but since it was raining out that area was
pretty empty.
We
arrived at the famous Times Square know for its theaters, bright lights, many
noises, and the abundance of people walking around. I learned from Mike that
Times Square was not always the safest most desirable place to be like it is
today. In the 1970s, the area was known
for crime, drug dealing, and prostitution. Times Square was no longer famous
for its theaters and its neon, but notorious for its sleaze. The turnaround
began in the 1980s and continued into the 1990s. Today Times Square is cleaner,
safer, more profitable, and more visitor-friendly then it was a decade ago (BG,
218.) while walking down 42ed street I noticed all of the tourist attractions
that even I have been too such as the Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum and the
Wax museum. I also noticed many of the big named chain stores that some say is
causing Times Square to lose its individuality.
We
then quickly walked through The GE Building, which was the first building
constructed at Rockefeller Center and is still the most
famous. The building is home to the famous NBC studios where T.V shows,
such as Today show, 30 Rock, Saturday Night
Live, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon are filmed. Walking through the
building I noticed the beautiful murals on the walls. One mural I
found
interesting was American Progress. This mural is famous primarily for replacing
the controversial Diego Rivera Fresco (BG, 249.) walking through the building
led us to Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Center is a complex of commercial
buildings, theaters, plazas, underground concourses, and shops developed
principally during the depression, it is the world’s largest privately owned
business and entertainment center (BG, 243.) When I hear Rockefeller Center I
think of the Christmas tree, ice-skating and Radio City Music Hall. The skating
rink is probably the most famous in the world and during the summer it doubles
as an outdoor café. Every holiday season since 1933 The Radio City Music Hall
has presented the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, which entertains more than
a million visitors. I have seen the performance three times, each time as
entertaining as the last. My favorite is the Rockettes.
After
Rockefeller Center we made our way to The Museum of Modern Art, or more
commonly know as MoMA. MoMA is one of the city’s premier cultural institutions,
one of the great repositories not only of modern painting and sculpture, but
also of drawing, design, photography, and film (BG,
260.)
the first gallery we
explored, which also happened to be my favorite was the children’s exhibit.
This was my favorite because I was able to connect with toys from my past such
as a tomagotchi and a robotic dog a got for one Christmas when what I really
wanted was a real dog. It was interesting to see how much children’s toys and
clothing have changed over the years. I find it crazy that I see toddlers
playing with iPads now instead of toy cars.
After
the children’s exhibit we took a look at some of the famous works done by
Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Van Gogh, and Picasso. After looking
at all of these works of art I would still have to say that Andy Warhol is my
favorite. His artwork really captures my attention with its bright colors and
odd features. I also really enjoyed Robert
Rauschenberg, who does abstract expressionism art. I enjoyed how he could take something simple and make you think about what is really going on, such as his
work bed. This artwork takes a simple pillow and blanket and makes it seems
like a murder has taken place with the bright red paint splattered across the
blanket. Picasso’s work was interesting to see in person for the first time, I
actually found it a little frightening if I stared too long at the images
because their bodies and faces were so distorted looking. I could only imagine
what was going through his mind when he was painting it. Finally I was excited
to see the world famous Starry Night by Van Gogh, I always thought the colors
used in the painting were very pretty, so I really enjoyed seeing it in person.
After MoMA we walked to
Hell’s Kitchen, where you can find a variety of different cuisine to choose
from. We stopped to eat Thai food at Yum Yum 2. I was a little scared to try
this food because I am a very picky eater, but after talking to Meritta about
what the restaurant had to offer I decided to try it out. Even though I played
it safe with the food I ordered I ended up really enjoying it. Without this
class I probably would of never tried Thai food.
After lunch we hopped
on the subway and headed towards Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I have heard of
Williamsburg from my father who drives a bus mainly in Brooklyn. He has told me
what a hip and cool neighborhood it is turning into. Walking around I could
tell the area was full of artsy people and “hipsters”. I also noticed that many
bicycles lined the sidewalks, which led me to believe that this is common way
of transportation for people that live here. We stopped at City Reliquary,
which is a little non-profit museum that celebrates the history and culture of
Brooklyn. The collection in the museum included many items pertaining to the
history of Brooklyn. I found this museum interesting because it was not like a
normal museum in that sense that you were encouraged to touch some of the
items.
One item I was able to connect with was a roller skate from the famous Empire roller-skating rink in Brooklyn. I was able to connect with this item because
I work at a roller skating rink and customers have told me how they use to
skate at the empire rink but since it has been closed down they now need to
come to long island because it is the closest rink around.
Our final stop was to
the Sketchbook Museum Project; I really found this place interesting. Artists
pay 25 dollars and they are given a sketchbook to fill with their designs, then
the sketchbook is taken on a tour where people can look and appreciate their
work. After the tour ends the book is kept in the museum where people can come
and admire their work. Each book I looked at was different and amazing in its
own way. Some books were filled with drawings while others had pictures, or a collage
of all different materials and pictures. Some books held a certain topic while
others did not. I really enjoyed looking at the work done by so many different artists
all around the world.
After we walk by the
water for a little which had an amazing view, as usual. We were given the
option to either go shopping or leave to go home, even though I love shopping I
was very hot and sticky from the rain and humidity that I wanted to go home. I really
enjoyed the places I visited today and would have never known about some of
them without this class.
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