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.

Mermaid Avenue

It's been quite a week, and let me just tell you that I am overjoyed to be chillaxing on a Saturday night.  Ahhhh.

On Wednesday, I had my first Writing About Art class.  I'd been pretty excited about it since the instructor, Martha Schwendener, writes for the New York Times.  Class was scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m., and many of the students (including myself) arrived early in anticipation of our well-known professor.  To our collective annoyance and awe, Professor Schwendener straggled into the classroom at 6:40 p.m., sweat dripping from her brow, mumbling something about deadlines, a re-route on the metro, and Ad Reinhardt.  Not one of us knew what to make of the black-clad woman before us explaining that, not only was she 40 minutes late for our class, but she had also misplaced our class roster and syllabus.  However, I was immediately purged of my judgements when she began her lecture (however haphazardly outlined).  She is obviously a superb writer and actually has a reputation within the art world for being quite a harsh critic.  Whatever her level of organization or punctuality (or lack thereof), I am thrilled to be her student.

My last class of the week was on Thursday evening, Modern Art, with Professor Weinstein.  He's a great professor, and modern art just so happens to be my favorite subject.  However, including the readings Professor Weinstein assigned, our total number of pages to be read before next week adds up to about 800.  Hence, I've spent the past two days reading nearly non-stop.  Thank goodness for the long weekend and shady benches at Madison Square Park, or I think I would have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge by now.

FINALLY I decided to take a break today, and met up with my long-lost friend Andy from the dear W&M.  I met him at NYU (where he's currently studying) and we hopped on a subway train bound for Coney Island!

I have always heard about Coney Island and fantasized about the world-famous roller coaster and hot dogs and so on and so forth.  When we actually arrived at the station (which was about 45 minutes outside the city) I couldn't believe how much it reminded me of Virginia Beach!

I felt so at home amongst the tourists, boardwalk festivities, and tiny swell.   Andy and I made a fabulous afternoon of riding the 1927 wooden roller coaster, walking the boardwalk, snapping

photos, listening to the Weepies on my iPod while the sand blasted our indigo denim, and eating hot dogs from the first-ever Nathan's.  (Note:  It is where they hold that ridiculous hot-dog-eating contest every year.  The current record is 66.)  One highlight of the day was a street named Mermaid Avenue.  

 Another highlight was the 1500-calorie order of chili cheese fries we shared.  We did not ride the roller coaster again after that endeavor.

I am looking forward to taking it easy for the rest of the weekend.  I still have hundreds of pages to read and a busy week ahead.  I have five interviews in the next few days, plus Fashion Week and classes to top it all off.  I couldn't be more excited

FDoC

Well, it finally came.  The First Day of Classes, or FDoC.   AND I'M OVERWHELMED!!!  First, we had graduate student orientation.  There are only 18 students in my class, all female, and they had some seriously impressing resumes (like working for Chanel, Estee Lauder, Intermix, Niehaus, Nike, etc).  I kept thinking, "Why am I here?!" but I decided to just try to learn as much from them as possible and use their experiences to my advantage.  My first class, on Monday night, was Principles of Gallery Management.  My professor, Sheri Pasquarella (Google the woman) is one of the most impressive people I've ever met.  She is 31 years old, and has written and edited over 10 books, founded 3 companies, and makes millions of dollars a year.  And I'm learning from her.  (Side note:  she was adorable, and was wearing a black sparkly Versace dress and giraffe-print stilettos.)  First thing, she passed out papers numbered 1-45 and we had a pop quiz of artwork, important people from the art world, and galleries on a slideshow that we had to identify.  I'm extremely embarrassed to say that I only scored a 20%.  But I wasn't alone.  She decided not to use the quiz for a grade, but she couldn't believe how much our class doesn't know and implored us that we had better learn them all by the end of the semester!  I'm 

 overwhelmed, but so excited to learn from her!  She continued to lecture for three more hours.  I thought my brain was going to explode.  

 After that experience, I definitely needed to wind down, so my friend Elkin and I took a sunset cruise around Manhattan.  It was absolutely beautiful, and we were able to take so many great pictures (thanks, Aunt!).  The city really is beautiful at night, especially from the water.  Unfortunately, my camera died halfway through the cruise, but Elkin took an amazing picture of the Statue of Liberty all lit up that I'll post soon.  FDoC wasn't too bad after all. 

This morning (prepare yourself)...I went to my first sample sale!  IT WAS RIDICULOUS!  It was for the boutique Intermix and was held in a huge warehouse on 19th and 6th.  There were women climbing all over more than 50 racks of clothing and shoe boxes piled up to the ceiling, all discounted up to 90% off!  everywhere I looked, there were women ripping off their clothes and pouring themselves into Chloe dresses, Missoni sweaters, and Lanvin shoes.  It was a bit exasperating, but totally worth it as I walked out two hours later with a few goodies of my own.  I can't wait for the next sale!

Tonight, I had my first class in Marketing Art for Profit and Non-Profit Organizations, which deals with advertising and business in the art world.  My professor, Rose Polidoro, was extremely friendly and I'm really excited about the class.  We already have an assignment to come up with our own business, write a business plan, and give a presentation to the class, so I have a lot to do!  My apologies if my blog posts become less frequent from here on out, but I promise I will keep updating.  I'm so excited about this semester!

By the way, I found out that I'm definitely working Fashion Week, so stay tuned.  I hope I'll have tons of fabulous stories to tell! 

The Balloon Dog and Other Adventures

Well, I made it through my first full weekend in the city.  The highlights consisted of one marathon of a stroll and my first visit to the Met.

On Saturday morning, Teneka and I decided to go for a walk.  Just a little weekend stroll around the city.  90 blocks later, we returned, with ailing feet and nearly nothing to show for our journey save a few photos in which we look sweaty and exhausted.  But it was glorious!  During our trek we saw the Empire State Building, Trump Tower, Bryant Park, the Henri Bendel, and countless other fabulous shops such as Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Pucci, Cartier, and Tiffany.  'Twas worth the callouses. 

Today, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time in my life.  It was extraordinary.  I saw some of my most favorite works ever in person!  

Andre Derain, Regent Street, London

There is a roof garden on the very top floor of the Met, and there were three works from Jeff Koons on display.  They were fantastic to see in person, especially on the roof of the museum with the city view all around!  This one was my favorite.  I had to let out a little giggle at the would-be art connoisseurs sipping Pellegrino with lime, babbling about Koons' aesthetic tradition.  It's a balloon dog. 

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog

Oh, and did I mention that I navigated my way via metro to the Met and back without any trouble?  I suppose it was a bit straightforward, but I was thrilled nonetheless.  I also was able to spend some time in Central Park, which has become my new favorite hangout.  Classes start tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited to meet my professors and dive right in.  Wish me luck!

Carnivores & Cupcakes

On Wednesday, we had a day free of meetings, etc. so Neeks and I spent a lot of time exploring the city.  I love snapping photos right and left because there is so much to see!  It's a fact: I will never master the subway system.  Every time I think I have it down, I get on the wrong train and take an hour-long detour through the Bronx.  It may take me a little longer, but I generally get where I need to go (good thing I haven't been on a schedule yet).

Don't the taxis look adorable all lined up?  Wrong.  They are the Devil.  I'm nearly plowed over at least 5 times every day by an impatient driver honking and cursing at me to get out of the way.  Hence, I brave the subway.

On Wednesday, the subway took Neeks and I to the Museum of Natural History.  It's the same one that's in the movie "Night at the Museum" with Ben Stiller (you know, where the dinosaurs 

and Pocahontas and Roosevelt all hang out at night).  The dinosaur skeletons were HUGE but I couldn't get any good pictures of them because there were dumb little kids flocking around all over the place.  Anyway, after the third hour of trekking through mazes of Trobriand Islander clay pots and miniature villages, I was ready to chill.  We crossed the street to Central Park where I was able to take some fabulous pics.  It really is an oasis in the middle of the city, and it was so relaxing!  

Of course, I couldn't be in the city for 4 days without going to Magnolia for cupcakes.  I had a glorious reunion with Giuliana over vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

It couldn't have been better!  On the way back to FIT, I stopped in the Marc Jacobs store and nearly fainted.  New York is wonderful.

Yesterday, Neeks and I woke up in a collective bad mood, so walked 30 blocks to go to MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art).  They had a Salvador Dali exhibition on the 6th floor that was absolutely magnificent.  We were just blown away by some of the works on display and the scope of the exhibition.  Greatly improved moods ensued.  After MoMA, we went to Century 21 (finally!!!!!).  It was insane.  I'll spare you the gory details, but Neeks and I emerged with a load of fabulous stuff (including a pair of rose gold Marc Jacobs shoes for me.  They are currently on display in my dorm room).  Needless to say, it was a productive day, until our 2-hour-long subway fiasco trying to get home.  Unimportant:  A 15-minute subway ride took us nearly two hours.  Important:  We still made it home in time to order out Taco Bandito and make outfits.  Everyone wins!

On a side note, New York Fashion Week is September 5-12 and Neeks and I both signed up to work it!  SO EXCITED!!!

I feel more like a New Yorker already.

On Broadway

I just returned from my first Broadway musical experience...The Little Mermaid.  Obvi.  It was absolutely magnificent!  The show was excellent and the costumes were just spectacular.  I can't wait to go to my next show!   I had so much fun with Aunt and Brenda while they were here.  They're ridiculously scatterbrained, and pretty much everyone thought I had two moms, but it was entertaining to say the least.  I purposely dressed to match the show tonight, but I had no idea they were both going to wear turquoise also.  We looked like a school of fish walking down Broadway.  So much so that some passersby asked if we were in the show!  

I'm still in disbelief that I'm actually here in NYC.  Walking down the street today, I was listening to "Marching Bands of Manhattan" on my iPod and it struck me that, hey!  I'm in Manhattan! 

I think I can get used to this.