And it’s back to New York for Big Bunny and Little Bunny, aka me and Chris V. We flew in last night directly over Manhattan—the night was so clear that the city was perfectly illuminated against the black of the water, like a giant Lite-Brite map.
We’re staying in my friend’s place in Westbeth, with a view of the Hudson and Hoboken. Diane Arbus killed herself here, Merce Cunningham had his studio here, and the vacuum tube and transistor were invented here.
Today we went to the Met to see the Vermeer show. The Milkmaid is on loan from the Rijksmuseum, so the Met’s gathered together all of their own Vermeers and those of a few of Vermeer’s contemporaries. Seeing his work in the context of his contemporaries makes his paintings all the more magical.
We also saw Robert Frank’s amazing photo series The Americans, and got sidetracked by Egyptian funerary portraits, French deco, Damien Hirst’s shark, and the best spiced apple cupcake with cream cheese frosting.
On the roof, Roxy Paine created a jumble of welded stainless steel tree-like trunks and limbs, meandering all over the roof garden, a glimmering aesthetic briar patch.
Time for a little rest, then back to the city that never seems to sleep.
