The Big Apple's Love for Art

Text and Photos: Apurba Jahangir

Famous journalist and writer Tom Wolfe once said, "One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years".  He couldn't have been more right about the greatest city in the world. From the money making Wall Street to the hipster's paradise Brooklyn and the Bronx, the big apple offers a place for everybody. 

As an art and culture enthusiast, New York kept me busy throughout my 15-day-trip. The tour included Broadway shows in the Ambassador Theatre, Jazz night at the 78 year old Village Vanguard and last but definitely not least, Museum of Modern Arts aka MOMA PS 1. Though a lot could be written about both Broad Way shows and the Jazz Nights; MOMA PS 1 established a soft spot in my heart. This museum once held the greatest cinema of Bengali history, but more on that later.

On a bright sunny winter day, I started wandering towards the New York's Mecca for modern art, aka Brooklyn. I was accompanied by Mehedi Waheed, a student of New York University and a specialist on bohemian culture. 

After a brief ride on the famous New York subway, we got out at the Court Square-23rd Street stop. After a double cheese omelette with a side of hash browns at the Court Square Diner, a five minute stroll took us to 22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, New York. In front of us was the first public school of New York. The school building now holds the astonishing pieces of modern art.  In the year 2000, a collaboration took place between the City Council and the Museum of Modern Arts which made this public school an extension to MOMA's exocentric art series display. This part of the museum is proudly known as MOMA PS 1. 

As we entered, we were welcomed by the sight of the marvellous displays. The museum was exhibiting many famous contemporary artists -- Titus Kaphar, Halil Altindere, Math Bass, Simon Denny etc. The first exhibit that caught our eye was the IM Heung Soon's photo series 'Reincarnation'. The artist explored the ongoing process of modernisation and globalisation of Korea as seen through the eyes of older generations whose lives affected this momentous shift. 

Next was Math Bass's 'Off the Clock'. Bass's paintings deployed a personal monolingual dictionary that centred on possible actions or transitional spaces: cigarettes emitting plumes of smoke; alligators emerging with mouths wide open; letters and punctuation marks twisted and overlapped; and archways, staircases, and zigzags suggesting movement.

At the very end, the guide curiously asked us what country we were from. When he found out we were from Bangladesh, he smiled form ear to ear. He took us near an old projector, right next to the video art screen. Apparently Satyajit Ray's first film 'Pather Panchali' premiered through this projector. As a film buff and a fan of Ray's work, this doubled the worth of my trip. What we looked at was a little piece of history that created a new era for Bengali cinema. 

New York is made of every corner of the world, and the MOMA PS1 will certainly give a sight of this multicultural city through art.