We went to the Cloisters today. It was a very long bus trip from about 65th street all the way to 190th. But we went through different areas and it is always interesting to see the locals getting on and off the public transport. Some people get on for only one or two stops, which amazes me. Our trip took over an hour to get there and nearly an hour and a half to return but it was worth it, the Cloisters was terrific.
The focus of my visit was to see the tapestries. They were so big and you could get very close to them - in fact I managed to set off the alarm when I gestured to one a bit too closely. Then an alarm went off when I got out my camera to take a photo. I was actually quite surprised that I could use my camera at all but you can, if you do not use the flash. I assume that the security camera person saw me and thought I might be going to use flash but I was a good girl and fiddled with my camera settings. I got some pictures but they were a bit dull, due to the low lighting to keep the tapestries in good shape. I haven't managed to get them onto my friend's computer yet, I may wait until I return to Australia and can play with them on my PhotoShop and perhaps lighten them.
There was other stuff to look at too, of course. There were some amazingly small and intricate carvings, mostly in wood or ivory. There was also a page of tiny manuscript as well as some beautiful illuminated book pages. You can get quite close to most of the things, so it is possible to really examine them to your heart's content. There were some beautiful stained glass windows too, I was especially taken with the deep red colours in them.
On the bus trip back, I was able to pass quite a lot of the time by looking at the fire escapes on the outsides of the buildings and looking at all the different designs they have incorporated into them to pretty them up. It would be interesting to find out if there are any books of photos of the various fire escapes around New York. It reminded me of being in Carlton and looking at all the wrought iron balconies and decorations on the terrace houses.
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3 comments:
I remember, years ago, going on a bus trip around Melbourne, playing tourist, and thinking the bus driver would never stop rabbitting on about the wrought iron. I guess I would be more appreciative these days. Maybe...
I think I am boring my host with the constant looking and commenting about the different patterns that are on the fire escapes.
I bet your design teachers would be very happy to read this though. They work so hard to get us to see the patterns and textures, that knowing it has impacted on your way of seeing NY would make them weep.
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