Life in the Concrete Jungle: A Photographic Journey Across New York City

 Earlier this month, I was in New York for a week-long stay with my family, the first stop of our two-and-a-half-week US trip. New York originally wasn't part of the plan--we had originally decided to go to Las Vegas and then Los Angeles and finally San Francisco, but after reading so much about New York (nicknamed "The Big Apple" and "The City That Never Sleeps", among other titles), I just knew I had to go here. In fact, New York tops my list of must-visit cities, closely followed by Paris and Tokyo. Finally, after weeks (or was it days?) of constantly hinting and insisting to my parents, they finally agreed to drop Vegas in favor of New York, albeit hesitantly.

Now, I'm pretty sure they don't regret making that decision.

While to some, New York may just be another dirty, crowded, and chaotic megacity, one cannot deny the fact that it is still a great place to be. Stepping into Times Square and taking in all the chaos--watching those famous yellow taxis pass by and seeing all those gigantic billboards and those tourists excitedly taking photos--just gives you this certain kind of rush that you probably wouldn't feel anywhere else--and that's just one part of it. New York City is a HUGE city, with lots of great attractions to offer. The five days we had to explore the city (minus two because we took a little side trip to Washington DC and we had to leave early for the airport on our last day) was certainly not enough. I hope to be back soon and experience what I still missed out on.

Appreciating Art in the City That Never Sleeps (Part 2): The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Aside from The Museum of Modern Art, another museum we checked out during our week-long stay in New York was the Metropolitan Museum of Art, located along a stretch of Fifth Avenue called the "Museum Mile" in the upscale Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. Fondly called "The Met" by locals, it is currently the largest art museum in the entire US and is currently one of the three largest in the world. 

To be quite honest, I actually enjoyed exploring this museum more. Unlike the Museum of Modern Art, The Met's displays were not just limited to paintings or sculptures. On display at The Met were also such items   as armor, costumes, silverware, furniture, jewelry and countless other items collected over the years, dating to as far back as Ancient Egypt or Ancient Rome. It is indeed fascinating for me to get a glimpse into how people used to live across different parts of the world--and getting the chance to walk into rooms that were created to look like a typical American home from, say, the 1800s just made it even more interesting!

The steps leading up to the Museum's main entrance is a popular place to hang out

Inside the museum's grand lobby

The museum, by the way, is divided into different sections, with each section featuring works of art for a particular region or country.

Ancient Egyptian statues

Actual pieces of jewelry and accessories worn by Ancient Egyptians

A miniature depicting life in Ancient Egypt

Gold footwear and toe protectors, often worn by royalty

Certain parts of The Met have large glass windows allowing plenty of light inside

High ceilings and glass windows give this place a sense of spaciousness

Throughout the museum, you may refer to interactive screens such as this one for more information on certain displays

Paintings by American artists

Lady in Black by William Merritt Chase (1888)

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze (1851)

A nude sculpture by an American artist

Another sculpture, also by an American artist

On to Liberty by Theodor Kaufmann (1867)

Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide) by Winslow Homer. This painting actually caused a stir when it was completed because of the exposure of the women's legs which was considered "inappropriate" during this time. In fact, when the painting was reproduced for a magazine, the women's legs had to be covered with leggings.

Carmencita by William Merritt Chase (1890)

Ernesta (Child With Nurse) by Cecilia Beaux (1894)

Jewelry worn by American women during the 1800s

I wonder what this woman is doing?

Paintings by European artists on display 

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758-1836) by Jacques-Louis David (1788). 

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes by Jacopo Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti)

A book which traces its origins to Persia (Iran) in the 14th or 15th century

Armor used by the Persians

The nobility of 17th century Syria would receive their guests in a large room such as this one.

Artifacts from 15th-century South Asia on display

Ancient Roman art

Ancient Greek sculptures

Ancient Greek jewelry

A modern photography exhibition

Appreciating Art in the City That Never Sleeps (Part 1): The Museum of Modern Art in New York City

The Museum of Modern Art, otherwise known as the MoMA and located in 53rd street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in New York City, is currently one of the largest and most influential modern art museums in the world today, where some of the best works of some of the world's most renowned modern artists are currently on display. 

During my recent trip to New York, I've had the chance to pay a visit to this museum, and this post shall be the first of two posts documenting my visit to two of the several famous museums in New York (the other being The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Here's a glimpse of the museum, as well as some of the thousands of interesting artworks on display by some of the best artists in the world today.

Museum entrance

A pretty modern-looking ticketing booth

Their "feedback forms" encourage creativity. The best/most creative responses are scanned and flashed on a nearby LCD screen.

The museum's spacious lobby feels very bright and airy, thanks to the light paint used

A series of paintings known as The Migration Series by Jacob Lawrence

Seated Bather by Pablo Picasso (1930)

Sitting on one of these chairs and admiring all the artwork around you can be quite relaxing

Sculptures on display

Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso

The Japanese Footbridge by Claude Monet (1920-1922)

Agapanthus by Claude Monet (1914-1926)

A view of the museum's atrium from one of the upper floors

Fulang-Chang and I by Frida Kahlo (1937)

Andy Warhol's iconic Campell Soup can paintings

Portrait of Joseph Roulin by Vincent Van Gogh (1889)

The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, which has been referenced in the opening line of the song "Vincent" by Don McLean

Two Nudes by Pablo Picasso (1906)

Another view of the museum from above. Below is an exhibit of Claes Oldenburg's works

Flag by Jasper Johns (1954-1955)

Mouth, 7 by Tom Wesselman (1966)

There were also interactive creations on display

A collage

A closer look

Some of the museum's corporate sponsors.