Staying at 156, East 85th Street. Apt 1E; arranged through 9 flats. http://www.9flats.com/fr/places/39133-appartement-new_york-yorkville . Simple dinner at "Vespa" on arrival, an Italian restaurant nearby; a risotto and a glass of Sancerre.
MoMA is showing Munch’s “The Scream” (1895); one of the 4 versions made at the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th (the other 3 are in museums in Norway!), on loan for 6 months or so from a private collector. This is how the museum describes the painting: “A haunting rendition of a hairless figure on a bridge under a yellow-orange sky, The Scream has captured the popular imagination since the time of its making. The image was originally conceived by Munch as part of his epic Frieze of Life series, which explored the progression of modern life by focusing on the themes of love, angst, and death. Especially concerned with the expressive representation of emotions and personal relationships, Munch was associated with the international development of Symbolism during the 1890s and recognized as a precursor of 20th-century Expressionism”. 
It’s interesting to see the name of “Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis”, associated to the painting – its installation, along of that of other works (prints) by Munch, is organized by the chief curator of their sponsored rooms of painting and sculpture at the MoMA. Marie-Josée…quite a history…(met her when she and then husband Charles Dutoit - celebrated director of Montreal’s symphony orchestra at the time – visited Shanghai in the 80s…) Wondered around the museum. Quite a collection – Picassos, Cézannes, Monets, and contemporary works (paintings, sculpture) by the thousands! Photography and films also. Well frequented – I suppose it is a must for anyone visiting NYC – lots of students. Lunch at the museum’s café, Terrace 5 – excellent! (Building also houses the Modern, another restaurant where we had meals back in 2009 – see blog’s entries then)
Dropped a few things at the nearby Rockefeller Center Post station, to mail to Laurence and Béatrice. The Center, and its famed skating ring, really appears as the “heart” of the city, at least for the visitor…
Dropped by the Asia Society’s headquarters, on the upper reaches of Park Avenue, on my way “home”. They also house a museum; Chinese artist Lin Tian Miao’s work, born in the 60s, is on show: quite unique – she made what she calls “thread winding” her “trademark”, so to speak. Her “Here? There?” piece, which she did for the 4th Shanghai Biennale, some 10 years ago, with her video artist husband, is stunning (picture below)! See article in last month edition of NY-based magazine ARTnews, on Lin http://www.artnews.com/2012/10/08/wrap-artist/
Had more simple dinners at Bar Boulud – twice as a matter of fact – “iberico” ham one night; “proscutto” ham the other night; with ‘Magnum of the day” wine: a 2005 Côtes du Rhone the first night, and 1983 Bordeaux the second! Saw in nearby cinema “A Late Quartet” – quite moving, with Seymour-Hoffman, an aged and aging Christopher Walken, and 2 other protagonists (plus ‘the daughter”) – the péripéties and tensions in the life of the musicians of this string quartet…
NYC, November 10, 2012
