Angry Fembot Army!

I've made no secret that I am not a giant fan of modern art. But thankfully my experiences on this trip have at least led me to appreciate abstract art. Friday was spent scurrying around Chelsea. After initially getting lost and having an adventure of a cab ride, we walked up and down Chelsea, checking out the independent galleries and museums there. While not everything there was something I could get behind, there were some incredible pieces there. In particular there was a series of sculptures of steel and wood that looked like floating space colonies. I'd love to set a story there! After accidentally ending up in a few extremely high-end shops I didn't know were there, and painfully having to walk by Alexander McQueen's boutique, we climbed aboard the High Line, an incredible new project set up by the City to reuse an elevated train line that was no longer in service. Instead it has been transformed into a beautiful garden. I didn't realize the High Line's story was where The Curious Garden came from! Naturally it was a perfect place to pop Sylvana for photos, and a few people stopped to chat with me about her!

For lunch we stopped at a tiny Chinese restaurant, where we were presented with a smorgasbord of food! I have never eaten so much deliciousness in one sitting in my life. Mmm! I swung by Times Square hoping to maybe snag tickets for A Little Night Music, and managed to score FRONT ROW tickets for Wednesday! Yesssss! All of that took quite a bit out of me, so I came home to relax, since the next day was the last of my Art History Course.

We returned to Soho for the last day, hitting a few of the last exhibits on our list. One of the more interesting pieces- and one that I looked forward to- was the legendary Earth Room. It was amazing that you could smell the piece as you climbed the stairs! It was a rich, moist earth smell. We learned from the curator there that the piece is watered once a week, and raked the next day to keep it pristine. We then had a pinch of time to shop, as Soho is wonderful for shopping. I bought a little pink corduroy skirt and jacket from a market stall, and then popped my head in Uniqlo. I hadn't been in a Uniqlo since Japan, so that was a treat!

Our professor pointed out where she had found her wedding gown on our walk to The Drawing Center. I hope when I get married, I can get my gown in NYC! My class presentation was at the Drawing Center, and focused on the costume designs for the New York Ballet by Dorothea Tanning. She's a nifty gal! Still living and one of the first female surrealists. Her drawings were so lovely and modern. Very fresh, too!

We then hauled all the way to PS1. Now. I had flinched my way though a great deal of modern art during the class. But I have to say, PS1 sort of overdid it for me. There were some incredible pieces of art there, to be sure. But a particular exhibit of a man shooting pornographic shots of his own mother simply overdid it for me. I expressed my need for art that made a grain of sense on my facebook, and was tickled to see the other girls mouthing "Me too!" at me! That said, another piece there absolutely tickled me- an almost prank-related piece that involved offering fine white art pedestals for free to art schools, in exchange for their used, damaged ones. No one had taken them up on that offer yet. I do hope someone does! There was also a film on someone composing a symphony only using ghetto-slang call-outs. It's this sassy, playful poke at the art world that I appreciate in modern art, and I've come to appreciate throughout the week.

However, our week was over, and we celebrated with a round of dim-sum and delicious duck. My bangs made a final appearance, and made their way around the table and appeared on many foreheads. After denying an acid-trip in song, I collapsed in bed with some oreos and M&Ms. And, here I am!

Tomorrow is our one, completely free day. So I'm meeting with my darling friend Lina, and we shall hit the town!
XOXOX

~Lilly