Why have I never been to the Museum of Modern Art until now? Because every time I go to New York, I am drawn to Barney’s and Bergdorf’s like a teenage boy to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. But having taken a vow of no shopping for a year, I needed to find some other diversions.
So I landed in New York on a recent Friday morning, intending to join my husband, Josh, for a business meeting and take advantage of his free hotel room in Times Square. From this prime location, one COULD walk to all manner of shopping from the street vendors to the chain stores like American Eagle to the one-of-a-kind boutiques like Creed perfume on Madison Ave. Ever heard of Creed? First Lady Michelle Obama wears Creed’s “White Love,” at least according to the sales guy wearing a suit and spraying cologne on to white strips that look like litmus paper. It feels like it costs $250 just to walk into the 10X10 ft. store.
But all that’s a moot point given the Vow.
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It was a cold and blustery day, so I was in no mood to walk to Central Park. I do love museums, and although I’ve seen every painting and sculpture in Europe, my shopping habit has kept me from seeing many of the art treasures of New York. Until now.
I arranged to meet my friend Jesse at MoMA for the afternoon. I was a few minutes early, so I stopped by the MoMA museum shop, just to BROWSE. They sell everything from kitchen gadgets to modern furniture. Just the type of thing (gadgets, make-up cases and costume jewelry) I don’t need, but would have loaded into a basket in my shopping days.
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Once I extracted myself from the store, I went with Jesse to the special exhibit of Picasso’s guitars; prints, drawings, and even cardboard sculptures of guitars. So specific, yet utterly Picasso. As we walked through the halls, we saw spectacular Calder mobiles. We popped outside for a few minutes to the sculpture garden where we saw a Picasso work, She-goat, 1950 as well as Giacometti’s Tall Figure III 1960, and Hector Guimard’s Entrance Gate to Paris Subway Métropolitain Station 1900. It is an exact subway entrance!
It costs $20 to get into MoMA, but on Friday nights, admission is free. People were lined up around the block. Guess I’m not the only person who loves great art.
So, isn’t it great that I gave up shopping for a year? I never would have seen these masterpieces if I had been pawing through the underwear bin at Lord & Taylor.
