The MET. Always overwhelming, though today it struck me as particularly dark, the paintings bleeding into one another. I was happy to escape the crucified christs of the medieval rooms and move into the modern art section to be enlivened by light and color. Today I spent time contemplating Renoirs, Hoppers, and Matisses in the Clark Collection. After the museum closed, I spent some time sitting on the steps and watching the street show below, probably my fourth street show in two days: three African Americans doing a street dance and some jumping hijinx as well as a comedy routine: "We're professionals. That's why we work on the streets."
This trip I've taken much more time to stop and observe, to talk to strangers. The first day, I started in Battery Park and moved up to 14th street - Union Square, then walked over to Washington Square Park in west Greenwich Village. There I was called over by a bongo player, Terry, who showed me how to keep rhythm on the bongo while his friend Kevin played me a song on his guitar: Allman Brothers. We talked for some time. I met a girl on the corner of Columbus Circle, near where I used to live, and we discussed New York in the summer, when it is somehow more relaxed though overrun by tourists.
In the evening I returned to Ben's apartment in Bed-Sty, Brooklyn. The neighborhood is not great - across the street is a giant laundry factory - but it is surprisingly quiet. The neighbors behind his building have a giant garden, and the apartments on his street have been lovingly renovated. The wood flooring is new, the kitchenware new, and each of the five members of the two-floor apartment have their own rooms. I was not expecting anything nearly so spacious! One roommate works in television, helping to arrange sets (as I understand), and the apartment held the abandoned leftovers from various commercials and TV shows: new mattresses, hanging plants, a dressmaker's doll, a giant wooden daisy, numerous melonballers and paring knives.
Tuesday night I attended the opera in Prospect Park with Ben and Vik (guys, please feel free to add your thoughts on the show). I missed the English translations from the opera house, which led to guessing games as to which act we were in, but the evening was gorgeous and the voices stunning. Vik asked me why I liked the opera when I was not so keen on musicals - they both have cheesy and improbably story lines - and I think it is because the voices are incredible - they send shivers down my spine. That the human body can produce such sounds!
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3 comments:
I guess I'm three days late commenting on this, but I'll go for it anyhow. A couple of neigborhood notes: I rather wish I lived in a lovingly renovated old building, but in fact it's merely new. One roomate moved in two years ago while the builder was still nailing up drywall in the apartments below, and more new buildings are sprouting from the brownfields all around us. The Hasidim from south Williamsburg (about 6 blocks away) seem to be leading the colonization--at least our building has doorbells numbered right to left, dual kitchen sinks (one for meat, one for milk), and a landlord named Schleima.
As for the show, the voices were indeed amazing. I particularly liked the clear-voiced metzo who turned out to be playing the male "young student" extra, and not, as I'd thought for an act or two, the female lead. As T said, an English translation would have been nice.
And now I really ought to stop, or else get my own blog.
Ah, there's a bit on the opera! That's what I get for reading all your posts late & not looking ahead to see upcoming titles....
voices were great. was hard to get into it without the translations.
dont forget the wonderful cheese, cracker and beer spread!
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