The Best Art in NYC — MoMA
I treated myself to a day of good taste and fine art at the Museum of Modern Art and stumbled into some unexpected exhibits and environments — this is one unique art gallery!
The MoMA is one of the most famous museums in the country, but it’s not just the art that makes this venue unique, even among NYC’s premier exhibitions. Like the Guggenheim, the MoMA is a stunning piece of architecture, meaning that the walls themselves are just as much a work of art as the work that’s hanging on them.
I’d heard that this famous NYC landmark had a few not-so-famous treasures hidden inside, so of course I had to buy myself a ticket! Here’s what I learned from a day of gushing over a ton of seriously famous artwork, unexpected displays of music and design, and lesser-known hotspots located around the museum.
The Modern
On my way to the entrance of the MoMA, I stumbled upon a restaurant called The Modern right next door. I had no idea the museum had its very own eatery, so I clearly had to check it out.
I sat down at the bar to have some lunch before taking on this glorious museum and got to chatting with Sean, the bartender on duty. He told me that this classy restaurant wines and dines a diverse group of clientele consisting of trendy artistic types, swanky business class parties, and tourists that find their way there while en route to the MoMA.
Sean also told me that The Modern happens to be under the same ownership as one of my favorite beer gardens, Gramercy Tavern!
Design for Ear and Eye
What I thought was one of the coolest parts of the museum was the Making Music Modern: Design for Ear and Eye exhibit, which focused on the deep connection between music and design. I loved the interesting and accessible pieces, which were designs for auditoriums, instruments, music-listening equipment, posters, record sleeves, sheet music, and animation.
One of my favorite pieces on display was the very first iPod released by Apple in 2001 — I’d forgotten how far we’ve come since then!
Looking around, I noticed interactive displays on the walls as well, which meant that all those young (and not so young) boys that “got dragged along” could play video games released throughout the history of digital design. This is a great exhibit for the whole family — it’s definitely something I bet my younger, tech-savvy brother would be really into.
Is That Real?!
It’s hard not to get starstruck by the sight of some of history’s most famous paintings — I had to do more than a few double takes throughout the day just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
The piece of art that got me the most starry-eyed was van Gogh’s famous “Starry Night.” There was a small crowd gathered around the modestly sized painting on the wall, which meant that I had to wait in line to even get a picture of it.
The famous Campbell Soup Can screenprints from one and only Andy Warhol were also on display, as well as a whole room full of Pablo Picasso sculptures that the artist kept in his own private collection until the 1950s.
I’d had no idea that New York City was the home to these incredible works of art — just one more reason to be proud of my city!
The Sculpture Garden
This was most definitely my favorite part of the day. After I finished walking through the six floors of extensive art galleries, I found myself outside the MoMA building and inside its sculpture garden. I wandered around the garden to gaze at stunning sculptures of flowers and animals, all scattered between stately-looking greenery and elegant fountains.
Inside the garden were all kinds of people both young and old doing every kind of activity you could imagine. I saw a little girl drawing in her sketch book, a group of foreign tourists talking, two girlfriends catching up, and a few people reading on their own.
I unloaded all my things, pulled out a journal, and sat down to think and write for a while — what better way to reflect on my very modern and very artistic day at the MoMA?
