Gingerbread Five Borough Bake-off 2023 December 3, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Gingerbread, Gingerbread five borough bakeoff, Museum of the City of NY, NYC, photography
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The second annual Gingerbread Five Boro Bake Off at the Museum of the City of NY invited 23 bakers out of the 50 that applied from across the five boroughs to create gingerbread displays on the theme of “Iconic New York”—creating distinctive buildings, places, or things that represent their neighborhood, community, or borough. The ’skinny’ on this exhibit is that there is 165 pounds of gingerbread, plus 161 pounds of icing and more than 105 pounds of candy. The smell is a bit overwhelming but a fun exhibit. It is on through January 15th. 
Shazam! November 19, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Center for Jewish History, comic books, NYC, photography, stan lee, super heroes, superman, the hulk, x-men
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During these troubled times it is important to know about history. The Center for Jewish History has a fascinating, illuminating and fun exhibit about super heroes, their creators and why they were created. In the 1930s and 1940s Jewish immigrants in New York were kept out of most respectable industries (anti-semitism was rife), so publishers, writers and artists created an industry of their own – comics. They also created its proprietary genre, superheroes, which they infused with various levels of Jewish signification. The preeminent creators in comic book history were all Jewish men — Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster (Superman), Bob Kane and Bill Finger (Batman), Wil Eisner (the Spirit) Joe Kubert (Sgt. Rock), Jack Kirby and Joe Simon (Captain America) Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (the Hulk, Fantastic Four, Avengers, X-Men and many more.) This is a wonderful exhibit for all ages. There is even a dress up photo op where you can don costumes, masks, capes and take your own super hero photos (and yes, I did partake). The exhibit runs through December 31st.
Can Do! November 12, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Brookfiled Place, Canstruction, City Harvest, NYC, photography
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Canstruction returns to Brookfield Place. I admit to admiring this competition each year when I see it featured on TV but I never ventured downtown to check it out in person. No excuse for this laziness and I will now have it on my ‘must see’ annual things. This yearly design competition challenges teams of architects, engineers, and contractors to build sculptures made entirely out of unopened cans of food. The large-scale sculptures are placed on display and later donated to City Harvest to help provide families with a holiday meal. Canstruction® New York has donated over 2 million pounds of food to local food banks since 1993, and over 1.2 million pounds to City Harvest since 2006. Since 1992, Canstruction® has raised nearly 82 million pounds of food for hunger relief organizations around the world with its signature, trademarked CanArt. It closes tomorrow, November 13, so there’s still time to go on down. Bring some canned food to donate while you are there. 
Ghost of the Mountains October 22, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, big cats, Ghost of the Mountains, International Snow Leoard Day, nature, photography, snow leopard, Snow Leopard cubs, travel, wildlife, zoo babies, Zoos
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Tomorrow is International Snow Leopard Day and my birthday. Snow leopards are known as the ‘ghost of the mountains’ because of their solitary and elusive nature. I sometimes am solitary and elusive too. Cheers to these gorgeous cats (and me). For more information about these gorgeous and endangered cats click here. 
Do You Look Like Your Dog? October 15, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: animals, art, Audrey, baby animals, Fotografiska, Mr. Pepe, NYC, pet photography, Pete, photography, Roberta
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When I am not taking photos at my job at the Central Park Zoo or in my wanderings around NYC I take photos of my own gang at home which includes three cats and a dog. How wonderful to discover that Fotografiska (a NY branch of the Swedish photography museum) was presenting an exhibit of pet photography and its role in culture. This special space is in my neighborhood so how could I resist. As the museum states – ‘With this exhibition we want to celebrate and acknowledge our constant companions, their presence in Western art and popular culture, and our multifaceted relationship with them. We place these animals on a pedestal, and consider them from all perspectives: as life partners, status symbols, friends and family members, and as works of art’. I have included some photos of my own gang (and me). See if you can find us all. Woof!
Be All You Can Be October 8, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Be all you can be, books, Grolier Club, libraies, NYC, photography, US military
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The Grolier Club on East 60th Street is a hidden gem in NYC. I try to see each exhibit they present. The latest one is called ‘The Best-Read Army in the World’ and is fascinating. It just opened and will be on exhibit thru December. The NY Times coincidentally had a terrific article in yesterday’s paper about this exhibit. It is about the power of books at a time of censorship and repression and tells the story of how the US military fought against propaganda and promoted free thought by disseminating more than one billion books, magazines and newspapers to 16 million troops during WW2 across the world. 
As ye sew, so shall ye rip September 3, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Amrican Folk Art Museum, animals, art, NYC, photography, quilts, sewing
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I adore the American Folk Art Museum and never miss a show. I saw this quilt exhibit last April and encourage you to visit. It is on through October 29th. ‘What That Quilt Knows About Me explores the deeply personal and emotional power associated with the experience of making and living with quilts’. Spanning from the 19th through 21st centuries, the works on view reveal a range of poignant and sometimes unexpected biographies. From a pair of enslaved sisters in antebellum Kentucky to a convalescent British soldier during the Crimean War, the exhibition explores stories associated with both the makers and recipients of the works. 
Let There Be Light August 27, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Clara Driscoll, lamps, Louis C Tiffany, New York Histrorical Society, NYC, photography
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The New York Historical Society is one of my top five places to visit. The permanent exhibit of Tiffany lamps is something to behold. I hadn’t visited this exhibit in quite awhile and thought it was time to go back. ‘As the centerpiece of the 4th floor, the Gallery of Tiffany Lamps features 100 illuminated Tiffany lamps from our spectacular collection, displayed within a dramatically lit jewel-like space. It is regarded as one of the world’s largest and most encyclopedic collections. The hidden history behind the lamps offers a fascinating look at the contributions of women in the creation of this art. Louis C. Tiffany (1848–1933) was the artistic genius behind Tiffany Studios. However, he was not the exclusive designer of its lamps, windows, and luxury objects: Clara Driscoll (1861–1944), head of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department from 1892 to 1909, has recently been revealed as the designer of many of the firm’s leaded glass shades. Driscoll and her staff, self-styled the “Tiffany Girls,” labored in anonymity but were well compensated. Driscoll’s weekly salary of $35 was on par with that of Tiffany’s male designers, a reflection of his regard for her abilities. The lamps in this exhibition reflect the prodigious talent of designers and artisans who worked in anonymity to fulfill Tiffany’s aesthetic vision’.
You are what you eat August 20, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, art exhibitions, Grolier Club, Henry Voight, Menus, NYC, photography
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This ‘delicious’ show, which was at The Grolier Cub and was fascinating. It idiosyncratically and chronologically told the story of American gastronomy, and the country itself—in menus. It seems menus came into general use n the 1840’s when only the upper class dined outside the home. The exhibit included menus from restaurants, banquets, soup kitchens, private yachts, and even houses of ill repute.“It’s like a 15-degree slice of history,” said menu collector Henry Voigt, who adroitly curated the show. “You’re looking from a different perspective. It’s not just what people were eating, but what they were doing, with whom they were doing it, and what they valued. It’s a mirror of society. Yes, it runs along class lines, but it represents all classes in various ways. They’re minor historic documents that reflect everyday life. The QR codes that one gets in restaurants these days is depressingly dull. The New Yorker did a piece on Henry Voigt, the collector. You can read it here. The Grolier Club is closed in August but I look forward to seeing their upcoming exhibits in the fall. 
A Wake of Vultures August 6, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: animals, art, Art exhibit, Ebony Patterson, nature, NYBG, NYC, photography, vultures
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In flight, a flock of vultures is a kettle and when the birds are feeding together at a carcass, the group is called a wake. We visited NYBG https: on Friday and both enjoyed this very different and fascinating exhibition. The vultures are both inside and outside the Conservatory. Artist Ebony G. Patterson, after a year long residency at the NY Botanical Garden created for the conservatory her exhibition called “…things come to thrive…in the shedding…in the molting…”. Patterson is the first artist-in-residence the NYBG has ever had. The vultures in the installation are a clear gesture towards the idea of death. But at the same time, Patterson explored their role within the broader ecosystem, and how by “consuming the landscape, they’re revealing things within it,” she says. They’re consuming our nature’s wounds, “as an act of care … and in doing so, they reveal other things that are hidden, so bodies become revealed.” The exhibit is on through October 22, 2023. I encourage your visit. NY Times review here 
While at the Zoo 