The Grind

It's been a busy couple of weeks...the daily grind has commenced with force.  Classes are going well (so far) although I am continuously bombarded with reading and writing.  I'm learning a lot though, and I guess that's why I'm here.  Go figure.  I finally made decisions about my 

 internships, and, indecisive as I am, I've ended up with two.  One is for Sundaram Tagore Gallery in Chelsea.  It is an art gallery that specializes in representing cross-cultural artists and has locations in Beverly Hills and Hong Kong.  The other is at the Joan Mitchell Foundation, a non-profit organization begun after the death of one of my favorite artists, Joan Mitchell.  They provide assistance to artists in need, such as those displaced by hurricane Katrina.  You can check out the links to the two places here:

www.sundaramtagore.com/

www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/

Anyway, needless to say, my life has become exponentially fuller in the past few weeks, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless.  I still find time to do New Yorkerish things, and hang out with fellow city-dwellers.  Last weekend, I went to the Guggenheim Museum

for the first time with some classmates for the Louise Bourgeois exhibition.  It was a great show, and the museum building itself was quite a  marvel.  I also went to the Whitney Museum with my San Francisco friend Kit, and caught up with him on life after the W&M Art Department.  I've found that it does exist.  

For the record, I am quite partial to spending time on the Upper East Side, not only because of the great museums and window-gawking opportunities, but also in hopes of finding my one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite.  XOXO, Gossip Girl.  I never had a desire to watch the show until I moved here, and I still hesitate to admit that I do, in fact, care whether Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf end up together, but it's kind of cool to fake-shop in Bendel's and fake-gossip on the steps of the Met just like in the show.  I haven't grown up nearly as much as I thought.

 

 This weekend, Daniel came to visit, and experienced the city firsthand via THE MEGABUS.  If you're not aware of THE MEGABUS, go to www.megabus.com and check out the amazing deals on buses from DC to NYC and a bunch of other places.  If you book at the right time, you can get a round trip for $1.50!  

Anyway, the weather totally freaked this weekend and it became fall, but we managed to do some sightseeing anyway.  I must make a disclaimer that I AM NOT A TOURIST, despite my propensity to take advantage of tourist-esque photo-ops.  I'll get over it eventually.  The best discovery of the weekend was Yolato, "yogurt gelato" with toppings such as granola and fresh mangoes.  We're addicted. 

Well, there's a busy week ahead, but I'm looking forward to it.  Campus is all abuzz about the big notorious fashion show-down between FIT and Parsons School of Design (huge rivalry there).  It should be pretty cutthroat; I'll be sure to post pictures!   

Fashion Wins!

Many apologies for my brief blogging hiatus.  I am back, with stories to tell.

First of all, it was quite a busy week.  I had 5 different interviews at various galleries/arts foundations, plus classes and Fashion Week (more about this later!).  It was definitely quite  

challenging to find my way via subway all over town in heels and business attire.  But I made it to all of my interviews on time AND less people have been stopping to ask if I need directions (presumably because I generally resemble a lost tourist without the fanny pack).  A woman even asked me for directions!  Shows how much she knows about true New Yorkers.  Anyway, all of the galleries have offered me internships, but I still have 3 more interviews to go.  Wish me luck!

September is the beginning of the art season in the city.  On Friday evening, I met up with some girls from my program to go to some of the big gallery openings in Chelsea.  Let me tell you:  I know art people have this stereotype of being quirky and over-the-top and flamboyant.  But nothing, I tell you, nothing could have prepared me for my first real encounter with New York art people.  I have never seen so many fabulous yet ridiculous outfits on real people.  I have also never seen such tight trousers and manicured facial hair on men.  Picture this:  men in herringbone jumpsuits with red plastic sunglasses and women in teetering 7-inch heels and tutus, all milling about, toasting each other and chattering on about Baker Overstreet's use of acrylic versus oils and the subsequent skyrocketing of his works on the auction block.   The crowd was a bit intimidating, but the overall atmosphere of the gallery district was really fun.  We saw some great work by emerging artists and even ran into one of our professors! (I'm secretly hoping for extra credit.)  It was quite an experience, but I'm looking forward to the next opening.  Oh, and speaking of teetering 7-inch heels and herringbone jumpsuits, New York Fashion Week has just begun... 

As FIT students, we were given the opportunity to work as volunteers for Fashion Week.  At Bryant Park, just down the street from FIT, is a temporary small colony of tents, all housing the most famous designers, models, and celebrities, buzzing about the Spring/Summer 2009 collections.  Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, Betsey Johnson, Nicole Miller, Michael Kors, and Vera Wang are just a few of the big names that are showing this week.  I was assigned to work for the Lacoste show, which is one of the largest, and was held in a gigantic tent.  My job was basically to greet guests and help them find their seats amongst the mass exodus of people moving from one show to the next.  Unfortunately, I had to sign a waiver promising that I wouldn't take any pictures or faint on any celebrities, so I used my googling skills to supplement my writing.  Among the attendees in my section were Andy Roddick (No. 1 World tennis champ; he's not that attractive in person) and his fiance Brooklyn Decker (Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model; she's much prettier in person than in the magazines)

as well

as Jay Alexander and Nigel Barker from America's Next Top Model.  

 There were so many people that it was almost impossible to see through the crowd, but it was FANTABULOUS!  The show was spectacular and the female models really are 6'3" and 100 pounds.  We were able to hang out some backstage where there was a huge array of food for the models and designers.  It was hilarious how all of the models were nibbling distractedly on one sliced carrot and the rest of us were diving into cheesecake brownies and honey-drizzled croissants.  The models really were beautiful, though.  And so young.  Some of them were only 16!  Anyway, it was a great experience.  One day maybe I'll go to Fashion Week as a guest :)

Well, I think that's all for now.  I may just switch my studying locale from Madison Square Park to Bryant Park for the time being.  No reason.