Pat Taub
I’m devoting this week’s “Short Takes” to events and sightings from my Memorial Day weekend in New York City.
RBG
Strolling in the Village I spotted this storefront hand-painted image of the wonderful RBG or Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our formidable Supreme Court Justice. She has become a national icon.
Stonewall Memorial Park
In the same neighborhood I came across a new pocket park dedicated to the Stonewall resistance of 1969, when gay patrons of the Stonewall Inn protested for several nights following a police raid of the bar in an attempt to close it down because of its gay clientele. The Stonewall action is credited for catalyzing the LGBTQ civil rights movement.
Whitney Biennial
On Saturday we walked to the Whitney Art Museum to catch the 2019 Biennial, featuring mostly young artists. I had hoped to see more politically themed art like I saw in the 2017 Biennial. By comparison this year’s show was generally lackluster.
Stopping for a coffee in the area outside the show I spotted a very fashionable older woman, Linda, who consented to let me photograph her. When I told her I lived in Maine she was aghast, “How can you survive in such an unfashionable place?” Linda is shown offering a power salute, possibly championing New York fashion.
“What the Constitution Means to Me”
Saturday night we saw the brilliant, Tony nominated play, “What the Constitution Means to Me.” This is a one-woman production written and performed by Heidi Schreck. It was smart and funny and riveting. A big thumbs up.
Punk Show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sunday I took in a dazzling punk fashion show at the Met. Here are a few of the wonderful clothes from the exhibit. I learned from the show’s legend that the word “punk” originated in Oscar Wilde’s London. When dandies wore outrageous costumes, often cross-dressing, their outfits were described as “punk.”
It was wonderful to receive a big city fix and a preview of summer weather after Maine’s miserable cold spring. Manhattan was summer-hot with the parks spilling over with flowering bushes and happy visitors.
