exhibit #2

WW2 & NYC; JOHN ROGERS; THE POP SHOP; ET AL (New York Historical Society)

Pretty proud that my favorite museum has become super beautiful. Don’t even know where to begin.

The Front Hall

A salon style presentation of Revolution-era artifacts rises parallel to a hall of a 9/11 photography, and a heavily dented fire engine door. Bent, not broken. Nice choices, a past and present bookend effect. In a display covering the Civil War, I just read the entire Emancipation Proclamation. So, so good. Displays about the arts and culture- this city makes me want to do more, bigger, better. Such an amazing place, and we can all contribute. Faceless mannequins in uniform, evoking that 1940s ideal, the classy patriots. Man, beautiful hall.

WORLD WAR II & NYC

Right as you enter, the crackle of the radio (the Battle of Britain), a sorrowful, concerned portrait of FDR, a map of the world, Axis Empire colored red. Amazingly tense. I’m captivated, my heart is moving differently. Before Pearl Harbor Three quarters of the city population were first or second generation immigrants, and political organizations in the city had a stake in the outcome as well. Man, imagine Union Square in 1940, or the debates rattling on at a bodega. Anti-Hitler Symposium, May 25, 1934, at the New School… Chagall, Ernst and Duchamp were among the refugees rescued from Europe, by Varian Fry. Most New Yorkers wanted neutrality. Mr. Smith and Mr. Schmidt, a cartoon book by Ben Martin, contrasting democratic citizens and citizens of a dictatorship. His point seems to be that man can be good or evil, right or wrong- I’d rather a book that shows Smith vs. Schmidt as free vs. unfree, a more empathetic take- equally capable men, but one is a victim of dictatorship. Both types of men exist in both nations, I suppose. American Nazism- strong in the German neighborhood of Yorkville. Must’ve irked the Marx Brothers. Fritz Kuhn- leader of the pro-Nazi German American Bund. LOVE this Dr. Seuss cartoon! Daredevil vs. Hitler! A marvelous real-life example of Kavalier & Clay’s Escapist storylines. Florence Mendheim- learn more about her. What a story.

After Pearl Harbor, the debate is over- mobilization begins, transforms New York. “Peacetime conventions yielded to new priorities.” When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Hitler- love this poster. Did not know the 23d-34th section of FDR Drive is built above rubble from Bristol, England. This Is The Enemy- iconic poster, shown here as a stamp; Artists for Victory. Slave World or Free World, a stamp that looks like what I wanted Smith vs. Schmidt to be. Arms & Armor Department at the Met designed head and body armor for American soldiers- wow. Joe Palooka K/Os the Nazis! Pretty awesome. Scuttlebutt goes to war- adorable! Heartbreaking. A Hitler piggy bank, awesome. Get In The Scrap: A Game with a Patriotic Purpose. I love this exhibition-specific mural of the blacked out skyline, a hundred ships ready to sail. The lengths New York went to to beat the U-Boats. NYC, #1 in war production, #1 in exports- the city where most of the freight ships launched in the Battle of the Atlantic.

New York wanted to do everything they could- and entertaining soldiers before/between their overseas tours- another essential contribution. Man, imagine all the soldiers who had never seen Anything like New York, what a mad, cinematic explosion of discovery and sensory expansion. Lauren Bacall worked as a dancer in New York, entertaining soldiers. I love that some of our boys could look back and Swear they danced with Lauren Bacall. I Love William Henry Johnson’s Jitterbugs V. Irving Boyer, Prospect Park- a dreamy, boozy scene. Latin Quarter- free for Men in uniform! An American Sailor and a Young Woman do the Lindy at the Stage Door Canteen- I love this picture.

Embarkation- what a scene. Love that handsome soldier looking back- the empathetic star of this picture. This mannequin, a buxom woman in a Navy outfit- WAVES- let’s be frank… this is very hot. And heroic, obviously.

Boy, New York basically Owned the war. Just Crushed it. It’s a signature achievement for this city- to go from ten different opinions, most prevalently “we don’t wanna,” just add Pearl Harbor- “we will Crush you.” I love it. Seriously beats NYC during the Civil War- now there’s an ugly scene.

New Yorkers who Served… Man, I love President Roosevelt. Such a powerful, comforting visage. Inspirational. Wow, I Love Jacob Lawrence’s Disembarkation and No. 2 Main Control Panel, Nerve Center of a Ship. Really amazing and beautiful. The soldiers, a faceless herd of heroes, moving like heavy rain.

“If I ever get home, I’ll know there’s one place waiting for me- a small alcove in your heart.” Oh my God, Sidney Diamond. Kills me. So romantic and heartbreaking, his letters to his fiancee.

I could almost cry reading over these profiles. I’m just so proud of these people, these Americans.

Robert Fleischer, what a story. Joined to avenge his cousin’s death at Pearl Harbor. A closeted homosexual who was able to make relations with men in the army- man, imagine all the Brokeback Mountains forged in that conflict. A Jew who faced antisemitism in his own unit, especially from his commanding officer; a Jew who liberated Dachau.

HITLER DEAD IN CHANCELLERY, NAZIS SAY- New York Times 5/2/45 headline.

Eisenhower’s VE-Day Telegram. Soldierly. No unnecessary words. Man. VJ Day, Times Square. “Thousands of people with overwhelming joy, just letting go, as though everything terrible has ended.”- Delaney’s perfect description of the scene in New York on VJ Day. I count among the best days of my life, the night that I felt something close to this- I can only imagine VJ Day though, probably the best day in the life of millions, millions of people. Possibly the best party New York ever threw.

An absolutely beautiful, grand, dazzling final piece, a burst of pure light. A very exciting and fitting end point. But of course, after the supernova, life continues, the struggle, the incomprehensible aftermath…

Chaim Gross- In Memoriam: My Sister Sarah, Victim of Nazi Atrocities. The melancholy curve. Stoic. Perfect, silent agony. My God. My God. Isamu Noguchi’s Bell Tower For Hiroshima- an unrealized design. Horrifying, solemn, incredible. A suspension of a moment, and an endless, haunting rattle.

The War for Civil Rights

Apparently there was a prejudice about blood transfusion- an assumption that blood types were determined by race, and that one could "catch" a race via blood transfusion, like it was an illness. Glad that we've triumphed over that particular foolishness. I didn’t realize the origin of Stuyvesant Town, that it was built preferentially for World War Two veterans- and whites only. A titanic civil rights struggle.

And at the very end of the Hall, finally- VJ Day in Times Square, the old icon.

Landmarks of New York

A black & white photo series by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel. Big takeaways- The New School’s auditorium inspired Radio City Music Hall; Charlie Parker lived at 151 Avenue B. And, hey! There’s the Little Red Lighthouse, which JD and I walked up to once upon a time.

GI Sketch Diary: Ben Brown’s World War II Drawings.

A GI who fought in North Africa and Italy- Pyle’s route! (though he got there after Pyle)- and kept a sketch pad with him, drew constantly. Love this watercolor of GIs slouching past a wrecked Nazi tank. Work is work. Something heroic in the haggard, determined soldier laying telephone line, in this graphite sketch. his pictures from Italy, the wreckage- the children- astonishing. I love this. Poetry. What a cool guy.

John Rogers: American Stories

Never heard of him before, though I’ve surely seen him. ‘The People’s Sculptor,’ the most popular American sculptor of the 19th century. Created small groupings of figures, starting just before the Civil War, and his production/distribution methods helped him gain widespread popularity. He’s hard to categorize today and is largely forgotten- seems like the Thomas Kincaid of that century. Rogers used plaster to make sculpture more affordable- “he placed fine art within most people’s reach for the first time.” Wounded Scout, a friend in the swamp- dramatic, heroic, romantic in scope. I’m all about it. I can see the entire landscape surrounding them, beyond the boundaries of the piece. Union Refugees, 1863, Returned Volunteer: How the Fort was Taken, Challenging the Union Vote, 1869- a scene still relevant today. Sharp Shooters- pretty fun, I like it. Mail Day- Rogers couldn’t decide what to make so he sculpted a soldier who can’t decide what to write. The Picket Guard- at the left, Leonardo DiCaprio. The decade after the war’s end was the height of Rogers’ career; he became the country’s best known artist. The vibe here in the 1870s is basically 3D Rockwell- Rockwell Must have had this stuff around when he was a kid. The Traveling Magician- very charming; also weird to think about traveling magicians who fought in the Civil War once upon a time. Reminds me of one of my favorite moments in The Master, when we see Freddie taking mall portraits- to see the man at his friendly day job, with all that well-earned darkness churning underneath. Private Theatricals, Last Moment Behind the Scenes- I’d love to learn more about theatre in this era. School Days- love how annoyed these kids are with that weird monkey. Not a high-seller in those days- middle class parlors were no place for urban immigrant scenes. Ichabod Crane and the “Headless Horseman”- awesome. Scary!

The Hudson River School

The Best room. The Course of Empire, the New York Historical Society’s finest treasure. The primordial cauldron of The Savage State, the idealized, placid green glow of The Pastoral State (which reminds me now of Kandinsky’s theory of green [a bourgeois color, the color at rest- regenerative, unchallenging]), the red, gold and marble splendor of The Consummation of Empire, the billowing smoke, black green water, the fires and cruelties, the violent marble poses of Destruction, and the eerie, peaceful shipwreck ruin of Desolation, with the sun hanging on, just about to drift into evening. The Mountain watches it all. Desolation has the misty beauty of a cool day, Just after rain. “The exquisite stillness of a world without mankind.” And Destruction was made almost right after, even concurrently, with this Great Fire of 1835- never heard of it until today, or I'd forgotten about it. I feel like I’ve written about this room before… I’m going to write less and enjoy more, in this space. (*and if it turns out I Don’t have notes about this room somewhere, then I better come back later this year!)

Man- imagine Discovering Niagara Falls. That sight alone would make you believe in God. I love these paintings of Lake George- where is it? Never heard of it. I should reread Frederick Jackson Turner’s essay on the Frontier. View of Yosemite Valley- Astonishing. Donner Lake from the Summit seems to float above, like Heaven. Just now I had the silly thought of, the way certain Biblical concepts were informed by literal phenonema of that era- if the notion of ‘Heaven’ and ‘angels’ began as, weirdoes who lived high up in the mountains.

Thomas Cole, Italian Scene: Composition- so lovely. How I’d love to be that peasant in the foreground. Summer in the Land of the Midnight Sun- a true beauty. One of my favorites in the museum, that cloak of red light, the stoic glacial landscape, the shipwreck- like a Titanic above water, the bones of civilization. Darkness creeps into the corners. This is the room that will bring me back to this museum, year after year.

The Luce Center

Can’t beat the Luce Center. Portrait of Peter Stuyvesant makes him look like a dwarf riding a pony; was he? (only half kidding.) And, ah, a murderer’s row! Roslin’s Benjamin Franklin, Durand’s James Madison, Peale’s Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Iconic, all of them. Highly unlikely that the Only copies of these would be in a supplemental corner of the NYHS- interesting to think of the era when reproductions had to be created manually. Asher B. Durand, pretty dashing as a younger man. Wow- Abraham Manievich, The Bronx- a spectacular cubist picture. I love it. Coming here always reminds me of the weird hierarchies of art- how does one genius make it to the Guggenheim, another to the back corners of the NYHS? Sultry Night Concert. Beautiful, dusky blues. Moving on- … So Many Fabulous Chairs! (3 Cherry Street- George Washington’s NY address.)

And, oh wow, an awesome section- a Christmas Toy Fair! The Jerni Collection- ferris wheels, train sets, tin soldiers, ornate houses and buildings. Much of it in German. This collections spans from 1850-1940, the ‘Golden Age’ of European toy manufacturing. What ended the Golden Age- the Nazis (many of the great toy firms were Jewish owned), the war, the supplanting of train travel, the rise of plastic over tin as the primary toy-making material. Amazing that such beautiful and intricate things were made for children. I love picture a 6-year old Dean Acheson in short pants with his trains; world-bestriding artistocrats of that certain age. What a grand picture of old europe. Moving on, the death masks, the life masks, and none other than John Rogers- The Council of War- love it. Grant, Lincoln, Stanton.

The Pop Shop- hell yeah. Keith Haring rules. Open a Book- and the World Opens! New York is Book Country. Awesome. The Master. whimsical, effortless, with space enough to breathe. Nothing mean or eerie in it, just pure fun. In his journal, Haring writes about how he loves children- and his paintings and drawings are so fun, so beautiful, effortless, silly- I feel an extra surge of admiration for him, I’m thinking more about how, his is a legacy I’d like to follow, an example to live up to. A man born the same year as my mother. I was hoping more of his wallpaper would be here- there’s a section of the Pop Shop wall installed on a column- I thought there would be more, a whole room.

Looking at a display- all of these objects were made by dead people. These are their children, what they leave for the world, their enduring presence. I’d like to make things that last, too. I picture myself as an anonymous member of a thriving creative scene, like one of the Greenwich village poets banging out a manuscript. I hope I’ll make some particularly good stuff over the years. Gotta learn how to market. The silver section, the Beekman family coach. The ceramics- Enoch Wood and Sons- Gorgeous rich blues; old fashioned tonic bottles, as Oiltrain would’ve hocked. The fabulous Tiffany lamp section. The Prettiest stuff.

Upstairs, Ribbons and Medals, campaign buttons (“vote for Willkie if you want to vote again.”) A ribbon worn at Lincoln’s funeral procession. What’s the name for the Rockefeller Center aesthetic- Art Deco. There are a few medals of that style here, and they’re awesome. And coins from the Civil War, and the 1830’s-40’s, and the Revolutionary/Jeffersonian era. Passing through, a vast canvas of Niagara Falls by John Trumbull- awesome. What a Big country, with such big dreams and possibilities- I’m feeling very American. Scrimshaw- appropriate for me right now, on my way through Moby Dick- in my bag, on my back right now. Civil War camp gear- a Union soldier’s cap. Weapons, police and firefighter equipment… The Great Fire of 1835- I can't get away from it, today. … A creepy-as-Hell exhibit about Puerto Rican immigration- clothes with no bodies, aligned as seats on an airplane. Like a scene out of Left Behind or a memorial to a crash. Textiles, political textiles- William Henry Harrison, Teddy Roosevelt, and- of course- W ‘04. The type of man that would attract textile-making fans. A section on spectacles, very cool. Love those green spectacles, so Oz. Past the jewelry and canes, on to the section I’ve always enjoyed, antique children’s toys. Block puzzle of a steamship. The Noah’s Ark.

Portraits of the City

A Southeast Prospect of the City of New York- amazing. That low skyline, and all woods in the hinterland- and the majestic array of British ships! Circa 1756-61. Man, life will change in Impossible ways, every generation, many times over in a lifetime. The Great Fire of 1835 as seen from New York Harbor. Extraordinary, horrifying. An orange, blazing mass, black-blue-green water, stoic survivors can only watch, or look away. The orange light on their shoulders- you know even there, they can feel it. A portrait of Castle Garden, now Castle Clinton- I’ve never heard of this thing! Big in New York in the 19th century, and today it’s a national monument- wow, really? Not sure I’ve ever seen it with my own eyes. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread. A lovely picture, in pinks and pale blues, showing construction at dawn amid the snow on W. 45th- the snow looks like knee-deep crashing waves. Bowling Green, New York City. Very pretty. Charmingly simple. The Great White Way- Times Square, NYC- 1925. Dazzling, romantic. This is the world I want to live in. Empire State Building, NYC- a sleek, stark, superman grandeur, 1940 incarnate. Yvonne Helene Jacquette- From World Trade Center: Mixed Heights II. Dazzling, dizzying.

Overall impression- they’ve really beautified this place. I love the New York Historical Society and it’s so good to have it back- and so nice to be back, for the first time in maybe more than three years.