The vision of a genius

It was raining Dali.
We're clear on one thing, that New York always puts a fantastic glittery on anything and it does it with a thunderbolt. But a Salvador Dali Exhibition in a mall? This may be the mother of all art show and sale. I felt like I was in a gigantic duty-free sale somewhere in Dali-land.

We stopped to have lunch at Whole Foods which is at the Time Warner Center - a high-end vertical mall in the heart of Columbus Circle around Central Park West. I couldn't believe my eyes. The giant Botero sculptures Adam and Eve were moved to the other end of the corridor on the first floor. 16 of Dali's original monumental sculptures, 40 paintings and drawings took over. They made a museum out of this glorified shopping mall, how about that? The show is free and the public is allowed to wander among the sculptures and paintings, all these lovely things people can not so easily snatch and take home! Of particular interest to me are a series of three studies for Alfred Hitchcock's 1945 movie Spellbound. That I'd like to own, ha.

It is no surprise that Dali's work would get more attention than Botero's bronze naked male sculpture Adam whose male body part has turned so shiny from constant handling by some perverted gawkers. This is a rare opportunity. These works would've enjoyed their pride of place in a more sedate and intellectual venue such as the MoMa but the owner of the collection and the Galeries Bartoux chose this unconventional setting.

How did they even get these huge and heavy pieces through the door and believe me Time Warner Center has big doors. I certainly hope that none of our European visitors who will be running the New York City Marathon tomorrow (and there's a swarm of them around), knock over these art pieces.

In case you'll be in New York for some shopping, Dali's work await you at the mall. Throw in a thick wad of money in that knapsack, you'll be needing a lot. Their prices range from $20,000 to close to 7 figures.

But you know what I'm thinking? Security doesn't seem to be tight, if I tear off a piece of one painting then sell it, that may be enough to buy me a charming pied-a-terre in Manhattan or even support my retirement. Me and my imagined lifestyle... Ah, to dream and wake up possibly behind bars?

Enjoy!

Edward Hopper and friends

That's it, blame it on the rain. You could've walked the few blocks.

Celine was half an hour late for our date at the Whitney Museum. She took the LIRR from Long Island (where else) and hopped on the bus at Penn Station to get to the east side. A huge mistake on a rainy day. What you get in Manhattan you just can't get anywhere else - horrible traffic and slow-moving crosstown buses. The city streets are transformed into endless parking lots. It doesn't help that New York pedestrians forget how to walk fast on wet days.

So if it's a choice between having the subway doors close on your face, or if you're lucky enough to make it inside, getting whacked by backpacks loaded with every high tech gadget Apple can offer and spending an hour on the bus trying to get to the other side of town, I'd easily cherry-pick the underground. And you can forget about hailing a cab, the big-tipper hedge-fund guys have monopoly of those vehicles.

I didn't mind waiting for her at the lobby. People were friendly, even as they shook off the rain from their bodies like dogs and were politely handed plastic umbrella bags by the museum attendant. Being 5 feet or less, Celine boasted that she was in perfect company in the bus - all the riders were short. I could only wish that it was a short ride too! Knowing her, nothing could've stopped her from striking a pleasant conversation with the person next to her making any long soggy bus-riding experience with midgets interesting. Oh, she's going to hate me for this!

After a quick and rather late lunch, we rushed to the second floor gallery. The sign reads: Modern Life: Edward Hopper and His Time. With her vast knowledge of modern art and being a Hopper enthusiast, it is like having Celine as my personal docent. Move over audio guide, she can help me untangle the mysteries behind every painting here.

We will recall Edward Hopper and his most famous and recognizable painting Nighthawks that portrays people sitting in a downtown diner late at night. Often without figures, his paintings can depict loneliness and isolation. The streets are empty of cars, the colors soft and the unusual lighting captures the lonely mood of his subjects. There is a clear disconnect among the individuals as in Soir Bleu where the cast of characters appear to be detached from one another. Hopper did it like no other, how to convey what it's like to be alone in a crowd.

The central point of this exhibition examines his work in the context of his relationship to his contemporaries, the artistic community of the Ashcan School. Most of the works on display were drawn from the Whitney's extensive permanent collection. Some of his most iconic work include scenes from the bustling streets of New York City at the turn of the century and later, the small-town landscapes and cottages around Cape Cod in Massachusetts, which are among my favorites. Born in New York and a solitary man always at home by the sea, it is clear where his inspiration came from.

Two of the most striking work by Hopper are prominent in my mind. Above, New York Interior and Seven AM. His simplified shapes and details and bleak setting speak plenty of his feeling of solitude.

And from among his contemporaries, my pick is Martin Lewis and his print Shadow Dance.

Hopper and his friends, they were the realist painters who were willing to paint what they saw on the streets.

Celine and I walked out of the Whitney Museum saying very little to each other but very much in awe with what we just viewed - some of the rarely exhibited works of Edward Hopper and the painters of the Ashcan era.