Bringing you quick thoughts on everyday art that makes the day a bit more special.
Today we went on a Birding Tour of Bryant Park! Not to show off my abundant knowledge, but birding is the preferred name for birdwatching by birders. We’d been wanting to do it for a while but could never wake up for the 8 AM time.
The tour guide didn’t think we saw much today, but we were amazed! We saw 4 new types of birds, gained lots of confidence that all you need to do is look, and talked to some nice strangers.
And now for the art
I got a coffee from one of my favorite spots, La Colombe, and was reminded of the great art in this location.
I enjoyed that a pigeon was featured, fitting as someone on the tour remarked they felt bad for the pigeons since nobody was interested in them.
The joke about Carnegie Hall on the piano is also hysterical because we met a piano tuner who told us the same joke this week (but with a different punchline than featured here). His joke,
A pedestrian on 57th Street sees a musician getting out of a cab and asks, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Without pause, the artist replies wearily, “Practice.”
I realized that I look at art much like the birding. I have a mental catalog of artists that I’m always trying to pattern match with. Hopefully some day I can say the same about the birds.
I spotted this as a work in the wild 🧐🌴 from Stephen ESPO Powers. I had originally gotten to know his art at SFMOMA where he took over the coffee area.
Notice “What I was gonna say” with the subtle “Vol 8” on the spine. Hysterical!
We also saw his work a few places in Williamsburg earlier this year. You can start to spot some common themes once you’ve seen it this many times, and I really enjoy that process of art-going.
I notice an interest in technology, with the loading phone icon and talk of emails, competing with the analog, like the books, pens, and pencils.
Thoughts on what is home reverberate through the work too. Fittingly, they often reference where they’re shown, like the mention of Carnegie Hall.
Best of all, there’s a love of coffee and birds throughout. Two things I can get behind.