What’s Up Your Sleeve? February 11, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Fashion, Fashion as art, NYC, photography, Sleeves, The Museum at FIT
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Sleeves? Not Sure I have ever given sleeves a second thought until I saw this fun exhibit at The Museum at FIT. This space has been showing wonderful exhibits these past couple of years. This latest one is no exception. ‘What is a “statement sleeve”? The fashion media has regularly used the term for less than a decade, yet many of us can conjure images of what it describes: a sleeve style that is exaggerated, embellished, elaborately constructed, or otherwise eye catching to the extent that it defines a garment. Statement sleeves have been spotted on innumerable fashion runways in recent years, with no sign of waning. From puffed to ruffled, split to sheer, there is a style for everyone. The exhibit showcases nearly 80 fashion pieces from The Museum at FIT’s permanent collection – the majority of which are on display for the first time – and features the works of renowned designers such as Balenciaga, Tom Ford, Schiaparelli, and Vivienne Westwood. They are organized thematically or by complementary aesthetics rather than chronology. The exhibition highlights how sleeves serve as a vital mode of self-expression that reflects our gestures and movements, showcases their ability to indicate specific fashion eras and their related trends, and proclaims their role as signifiers of status, taste, and personality’. So what’s up your sleeve?
Unnamed Figures January 14, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: American Folk Art Museum, art, Art exhibit, NYC, photography, Unnamed Figures
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I saw this wonderful exhibit several months ago and thought that this being Martin Luther King weekend it was a timely post to share. ‘A vital American Folk Art Museum show reckons with centuries of erasure by uncovering historical records of the unnamed Black people depicted in artwork. Assembling paintings, drawings, photographs, embroideries, sculptures, ceramics and a wealth of archival material from the 17th through the 19th centuries, the exhibition surrounds representations of Black individuals with essential, eye-opening context. The NY Times reviewed this exhibit a few weeks ago and their words are much better than mine. The American Folk Art Museum is free and they always have wonderful, thought provoking exhibits. This exhibit is on view thru March. 
Beam Me Up! December 17, 2023
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: architecture, art, NYC, NYC skyline, photography, Rockefeller Christmas Tree, Santa, The Beam, Top of the Rock, VIP
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My good friend Robyn and I went on a 2.5 hour guided tour of Rockefeller Center (which actually lasted 3.5 hours) that included a fascinating history of their art and architecture. This VIP (which means a bit pricey) tour also includes exclusive access to one of Rockefeller Center’s hidden rooftop gardens with a view of the Saks Fifth Avenue beautiful holiday display and a unique perspective of St Patrick’s Cathedral. Plus an expedited entry and private elevator access to the Top of the Rock observation deck, The new Beam Experience that allows visitors to recreate the famed 1932 photo “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” showing 11 workers eating lunch on a steel beam high above Manhattan streets while 30 Rock was under construction and a Photo Pass. Plus, this holiday season, the VIP Rock Pass also includes exclusive, unobscured viewing of the Tree, plus the Santa Photo Experience and the Christmas Tree Photo. I admit I was giddy about the Santa experience since I had never had a photo taken with Santa. It was a full, memorable visit. If you have the time, I highly suggest it be added to your holiday plans. And yes..it is crowded.
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. 
While at the Zoo 