Stiletto · 2004
New York guide: modern art on the banks of the Hudson
Translated from the French. Original: Stiletto, April 1, 2004 · French version
Stiletto: Spring 2004 issue
NEW YORK GUIDE
Modern art on the banks of the Hudson River
Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, John Chamberlain, Walter De Maria… Everyone to the factory! Assembly-line work may have inspired Warhol’s artistic approach; now he is well served. His art, like that of dozens of other artists, is housed in a former Nabisco biscuit factory in the small town of Beacon, in the heart of New York State. In other words, once in Manhattan, you are only 80 minutes from the largest museum of modern art in the world. The place is enormous, and the road to get there is full of pitfalls. Once there, imagining sculptures, paintings and photographs in this immense building of brick, glass and metal, built in 1929 by the architect Louis N. Wirshing, Jr., quickens the step. The works are showcased on giant walls, under gigantic ceilings. The place itself is a work of art. The collection belongs to the Dia Foundation, which during the seventies and eighties accumulated works with a view to opening such a museum. Richard Serra’s monumental sculptures have a completely different hold here on the visitor’s eye and emotions. This escape into the depths of New York State makes a change from the sound and fury of the city.
Dia Beacon - 3 Beekman street : Beacon, NY : 845 440 0100 : www.diaart.org
The trucker cap takes over Manhattan nights
The trucker cap, printed fabric in front, plastic mesh at the back, has delighted thousands of Tour de France spectators, truck drivers and toddlers on the beach. It had never yet reached the sweaty heads of clubbers. Von Dutch, the brand of the moment, is settling in, screwed onto the heads of the fashion victims of California and New York. The creator and vice-president of Von Dutch, Christian Audigier, a Frenchman from Gap in the Hautes-Alpes, “reinvents” the cap by putting the signature of the Dutch artist on it. Von Dutch, who in the 1950s started the movement of customising the cars and Harleys of the bikers of the time. Fashion draws inspiration from all kinds of heroes; the night owls of the start of this century have found their signature. The cap is an emblem, but the brand also comes in T-shirts, shirts, highly worked jeans, vintage jackets... Audigier wants to build a “hot kouture” line for a new generation.
Urban Outfitters at the corner of 14th Street and 6th
Avenue offers many of the brand’s items, pending the opening, planned this summer, of a dedicated store in SoHo.
www.vondutch.com
Beneath the stress, serenity
Long walks on Fifth Avenue and discoveries in SoHo or the East Village can prove exhausting. The “metrosexuals”, those city dwellers no longer afraid to take care of themselves openly, without skimping on their masculinity, are already convinced. Nothing like a frequent stop at your favourite spa to regenerate. The Broadway Spa is an astonishing experience. A gentle way into the world of beauty. Massages, facials, manicures, pedicures: here, mixing is an asset. French, Russian, Israeli and American accents… blend with the country scents and relaxing colours of this new salon at the crossroads of Chelsea and Broadway. At very affordable prices, the treatments on offer energise the day. The kind of experience that is essential on the island that never sleeps to survive in great shape and good health.
Broadway Spa : 7w 25 th
Street : 212 229 0636- www.broadwayspa.com
IPOD MANIA: Edged with white wire…
The streets of New York are no longer the same. Carrying your music in subway corridors, at the gym, at the office has never been so “in”. New Yorkers of all ages walk around going la-la-la ever since Apple pulled off its best marketing coup since the iBook. While in France the wires hanging down suits and ties are the symbol of mobile phone addicts, New York is sprouting white wires, the symbol of the
iPod tribe. This MP3 player carries up to 40 gigabytes of music memory, weeks of continuous listening to frenzied melodies. Trendy clothing brands now include an iPod pocket in their duffle coats, and it is always the white wire that symbolises the modern attitude. The Apple Center in SoHo, the ultimate temple of toys, has all the gadgets that go with the music box.
Apple Store - 103 Prince Street (SOHO) - 212 226-3126 - www.apple.com/retail/soho
Tokyo in the middle of SoHo
The entrance is almost invisible, the atmosphere is dark, and yet this place is full of innovations. Once inside this little shop of happiness, the colours imprint themselves, like an art gallery you can wear. The T-shirts hanging on designer rails give free rein to your imagination. Between Pop Art and manga culture, a few students decided to put their most childlike fantasies on fabric. Graffiti, cartoons, barcodes… the screen prints are worn at an angle, on the shoulders, in every position. Choosing your favourite illustration from bins laid out like an old record shop with LPs: everything is designed to trigger an inevitable urge to buy, without any regrets about the quality of the clothes. A blend of extreme Tokyo for the design and US know-how for luring the customer.
Zakka - 147 Grand St - 212.431.3961
The Gates of Central Park
From April 6, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is showcasing the forthcoming work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Their gigantic project: to install 7,500 saffron-coloured gates for 16 days in February 2005 in Central Park. Sales of merchandise from the project will benefit a non-governmental organisation, The Carriage House Center. Ahead of the event, the Met decodes the project, which will cause a sensation next winter. The exhibition presents the plans, the materials and the photographs of an idea that began in 1979, bringing together 50 preparatory drawings, 10 maps and a full-size prototype of one of the gates that will grace, or disfigure, Central Park.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art - 1000 Fifth Avenue - 212-535-7710 - www.metmuseum.org
Smoking, no smoking…
A habit out of obligation… New Yorkers are rediscovering their streets and pavements. At least Manhattan’s smokers are. Since the law passed in March 2003, pushed by the recommendations of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, smoking corners have completely disappeared from the city. No Asterix-style holdout in sight; the law is well and truly respected. Yet one exception to the rule, very secret and guarded like a grandmother’s recipe, is hidden in the East Village. Karma, an escape from the pavement cigarette… Under its licence as a café/restaurant/hookah bar, addicts can finally smoke at the bar. But the apple and honey blended with Karma’s cosy, oriental atmosphere erase the craving for nicotine, leaving you to enjoy the warmth of the charcoal sizzling on the carefully prepared
shisha. Dim lighting, soft sofas: the start of the evening is promising…
Karma Lounge East Village : 51 east First Street : 212 6773160 : www.karmanyc.com