Tag: Deb Hastings

@ The Guggenheim: Hilma af Klint

Above: Svanen by Hilma af Klint

Presenting one of the most fascinating art exhibits I’ve ever had the chance to experience, The Guggenheim’s gone all out to bring us a panorama of works by the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944).

Born in Stockholm in 1862, Hilma af Klint started out as an academy-educated painter of landscapes and portraits, including some striking botanical pieces. The Spiritualist movement and an interest in scientific progress led af Klint to visualize a world beyond daily realities. She began creating radically abstract paintings in 1906.

Feeling that her art would be beyond comprehension during her lifetime, she shunned exhibits of her work and avoided publicity-seeking. af Klint passed away in 1944; she remained an unknown until the 1980s.

The Guggenheim’s exhibition thrilled me, and I hope to return for another look at af Klint’s magnificent work. Although the slanting floor of the long, winding Guggenheim gallery threw off my equilibrium (and similarly affected my friend Deb Hastings, who was with me), this is art that one could study for hours and still not grasp it all.

Much of the magic of af Klint’s work is in the details; here are a few examples:

Some of af Klint’s largest canvases are displayed on the museum’s main floor:

Her colours dazzle:

But photos don’t do the work full justice: you have to be there.

The Guggenheim exhibit, titled Paintings for the Future, runs thru April 23rd, 2019.

~ Oberon

November 28, 2018
Hamilton’s House

Wednesday September 19th, 2018 – Having lived in New York City for twenty years, and been a frequent Gotham visitor since the 1960s, it’s always fun to discover places here in town that I did not know existed. I happened upon Alexander Hamilton’s house – officially called Hamilton Grange National Memorial – one day in August while visiting a friend who was recuperating from surgery. The house was not open to visitors that day, but it looked so distinguished sitting there in its grassy park that I knew I wanted to return and investigate.

I was pretty sure my high-school friend Deb Hastings would be interested in this landmark; I suggested we head there the next time she came into town…which turned out to be today.

Hamilton’s house is located on 141st Street at Saint Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan. With the success of the musical HAMILTON, the house has become something of a tourist destination. Deb saw HAMILTON and loved it. Myself, it interests me not at all.

After strolling around the exterior…

…we went into the visitor’s center for our “un-guided” tour, which started at noon. Only another woman and her teenaged son were in our ‘group’…the boy reminded me so much of my first lover, TJ.

Films shown at such landmarks are not always of great interest, but the two we watched here were excellent: the first about Hamilton’s life (and death) and the other about the incredible feat of moving the house to its present location from a couple of blocks away.

We climbed a steep, narrow staircase to the main floor, where three period rooms are open to the public:

The dining room…

…sitting room…

…and Hamilton’s small study, with a little writing table, above…

…and a large desk.

More images from our visit:

Sitting room carpet detail

Though our tour was not guided, a woman from the National Parks Service was on hand, and she answered Deb’s questions in detail. We then walked up the hill to Amsterdam Avenue and had a delicious lunch at the Grange Bar and Eatery.

{The statue shown in the photo at the top of this article stands in the churchyard at St Luke’s Episcopalian, adjacent to where Hamilton’s house was located prior to its being moved to the current location.}

~ Oberon

September 19, 2018
Hamilton’s House

Wednesday September 19th, 2018 – Having lived in New York City for twenty years, and been a frequent Gotham visitor since the 1960s, it’s always fun to discover places here in town that I did not know existed. I happened upon Alexander Hamilton’s house – officially called Hamilton Grange National Memorial – one day in August while visiting a friend who was recuperating from surgery. The house was not open to visitors that day, but it looked so distinguished sitting there in its grassy park that I knew I wanted to return and investigate.

I was pretty sure my high-school friend Deb Hastings would be interested in this landmark; I suggested we head there the next time she came into town…which turned out to be today.

Hamilton’s house is located on 141st Street at Saint Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan. With the success of the musical HAMILTON, the house has become something of a tourist destination. Deb saw HAMILTON and loved it. Myself, it interests me not at all.

After strolling around the exterior…

…we went into the visitor’s center for our “un-guided” tour, which started at noon. Only another woman and her teenaged son were in our ‘group’…the boy reminded me so much of my first lover, TJ.

Films shown at such landmarks are not always of great interest, but the two we watched here were excellent: the first about Hamilton’s life (and death) and the other about the incredible feat of moving the house to its present location from a couple of blocks away.

We climbed a steep, narrow staircase to the main floor, where three period rooms are open to the public:

The dining room…

…sitting room…

…and Hamilton’s small study, with a little writing table, above…

…and a large desk.

More images from our visit:

Sitting room carpet detail

Though our tour was not guided, a woman from the National Parks Service was on hand, and she answered Deb’s questions in detail. We then walked up the hill to Amsterdam Avenue and had a delicious lunch at the Grange Bar and Eatery.

{The statue shown in the photo at the top of this article stands in the churchyard at St Luke’s Episcopalian, adjacent to where Hamilton’s house was located prior to its being moved to the current location.}

~ Oberon

September 18, 2018