Wednesday 7 January 2015

The Guggenheim by Allen Beatty




The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (often referred to as "The Guggenheim") is a well-known art museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a renowned and continuously expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year. The museum was established by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in 1939 as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, under the guidance of its first director, the artist Hilla von Rebay. It adopted its current name after the death of its founder Solomon R. Guggenheim in 1952.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the cylindrical museum building, wider at the top than the bottom, was conceived as a "temple of the spirit" and is one of the 20th century's most important architectural landmarks. The building opened on October 21, 1959, replacing rented spaces used by the museum since its founding. Its unique ramp gallery extends from just under the skylight in the ceiling in a long, continuous spiral along the outer edges of the building until it reaches the ground level. The building underwent extensive expansion and renovations from 1992 to 1993 (when an adjoining tower was built) and from 2005 to 2008. The museum's collection has grown organically, over eight decades, and is founded upon several important private collections, beginning with Solomon R. Guggenheim's original collection. The collection is shared with the museum's sister museums in Bilbao, Spain, and elsewhere.



Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum







 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum - Wikipedia

The Metropolitan Museum Of Art Roof Garden




The Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden (Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden) is a rooftop garden terrace, art venue and restaurant open in the warm weather months at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Roof Garden offers views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. The garden is the gift of philanthropists Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, founder and chairman of securities firm Cantor Fitzgerald. The Garden was opened to the public on August 1, 1987.



The Metropolitan Museum of Art







 Metropolitan Museum of Art - Wikipedia

Niki de Saint Phalle's work by Allen Beatty


Louis Armstrong

This sculpture is entitled Louis Armstrong and is one in a series of tributes to famous jazz musicians.




Nana And The Dolphin 2


Ten of Niki de Saint Phalle's signature sculptures were on display on the Park Avenue mall from 52nd Street to 60th street in NYC between 07/12/12 and 11/15/12. The scuptures, made of polyster resin, with mosaics of ceramic, mirror, and stained glass tower above the crowds and traffic as high as 16 feet tall and 13 feet wide. The internationally acclaimed artist's sculptural nanas, totems, athletes, and jazz musicians are playful and dynamic.

The exhibition coincides with the ten year commemoration of Niki de Saint Phalles's passing, celebrating the life and achievements of this prolific artist.

This sculpture is entitled Nana on a Dolphin. This is one of her signature Nana"s which is French slang for broad or chick.




 Niki de Saint Phalle - Wikipedia

Sleepy Time Cow - Allen Beatty



CowParade is the largest and most successful public art event in the world. Cow Parade events have been staged in over 75 cities worldwide since starting in Chicago in 1999 and over 300 million people have seen at least one Cow Parade. In excess of 30 million dollars has been raised for worldwide charitable organizations.

Over 10000 artists have received an opportunity to express their creativity and in a unique way and be compensated for their work. Three shapes are used: standing, grazing, and reclining.

Funds for the charities are raised in a variety of ways, chief among them the auctioning of the cows after the exhibit. The cow that sold for the most was exhibited in Dublin, Ireland and was covered in pieces of colored Watreford Cyrstal. It went for $146000. The other major fund raiser is the sale of minature replicas of the cows from CowParde. Over 1 million replica figurines have been purchased by collectors in 100 countries.

Why cows ? Why not ? Seriously though, the cow is a universally liked and recognized animal. It does good things for us, makes us smile, is friendly and has a fun personality. Most every child begins his or her vocabulary with the word "Moo". The words cow and moo provide a very special bonus for the artist when naming the sculptures, as you'll see as you look at the gallery..... Most of the information for this description comes from the CowParade website at the link below.

The majority of the pictures are from CowParade NYC 2000. The rest are from CowParade West Orange, N.J. 2000.







 CowParade Website


 Allen's Urban Art - Gallery

MoMA PS1







 MoMA PS1 - Wikipedia

Thursday 1 January 2015

Central Park by Allen Beatty


Autumn In Central Park

A view from Central Park just inside the 59th Street entrance looking toward the Essex House hotel and assorted skyscrapers in October.




Autumn In Central Park 3

A view of the Central Park Lake in late October on a crisp sunny day with the majestic San Remo apartment buildings in the background. The San Remo (145 Central Park West) is a luxury, 27-floor, co-operative apartment building in Manhattan located between West 74th Street and West 75th Street, three blocks north of The Dakota. The San Remo is described by Glen Justice of the New York Times as "a dazzling two-tower building with captivating views of Central Park." As a housing cooperative, its board has a "reputation for lenient admissions standards" compared to the conservative, old-money boards on the other side of the park. Past and present residents of the building include such famous personalities as Stephen Sondheim, Tiger Woods, Steven Spielberg, Donna Karan, Tony Randall, Demi Moore, Glenn Close, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Martin, Bruce Willis, Trey Parker, Eddie Cantor, Robert Stigwood, Marshall Brickman, Jackie Leo, Don Hewitt, Dodi Fayed, Andrew Tobias, Aaron Spelling, and Hedy Lamarr. Rita Hayworth spent her last years there, in a unit beside that of her daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. In 2007 same-floor residents Bono and Billy Squier went to court over a fireplace. Steve Jobs bought and renovated a penthouse apartment but never lived in it, ultimately selling it to Bono.




Springtime In Central Park

A beautiful springtime scene in Central Park, New York City as the trees start to bloom again and people are back in the park.

Bow Bridge Central Park

The Bow Bridge is a cast iron bridge located in Central Park, New York City, crossing over The Lake and used as a pedestrian walkway. It is decorated with an interlocking circles banister, with eight planting urns on top of decorative bas-relief panels. Intricate arabesque elements and volutes can be seen underneath the span arch. The bridge was designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould, and completed in 1862. Measuring a total of 87 feet , it is the largest bridge in the park.

Image enhanced digitally for a "painterly effect.



Meeting Of The Carriages

Two horse drawn carriages pause for a brief respite near the 72nd street entrance to Central Park in New York City. Digitally enhanced for a "painterly effect."