Tuesday 1 May 2012

Public Spaces, NYC

One of the things I particularly liked  about New York is the number of public spaces that exist for people to chill out, eat, socialize, or just hang around.




This is Paley Park, just a few yards from MoMA on 53rd and taking up the space of a building.




A little oasis in the middle of the city. A mini-waterfall and transparent water tunnel are the main attractions here. It is very quiet and peaceful, the sound of the rushing water drowning out everything else




all the flowers were yellow, like the tulips here




Next door, another public space, with a five-panel section of the former Berlin Wall as the centrepiece. Artists: Thierry Noir and Kiddy Citny.





Park Avenue Plaza




spacious




luxurious




offering seating without the obligation to buy




or alternatively, you can sit by the (very quiet) waterfall and buy yourself a drink




enjoying the tastefully arranged flowers




while listening to live piano music




M'Finda Kalunga Community Garden, on the edge of Little Italy and Nolita




lovingly tended by the volunteers while we were there




a peaceful little corner




with lots of colour




tulips dominated at this time of year




different colour combinations




the garden is divided into different 'rooms' each with its own seating arrangement.




The Rockefeller Centre, between 5th and 6th Avenues, another place with public areas for people to use




walking down the gentle slope of the Channel gardens




with the pool at the centre,




one comes to the Lower Plaza, ice rink in winter, sunken restaurant in the summer months,  dominated by Paul Manship's Prometheus sculpture




the gold theme dominates everywhere here - from the entrance to the GE building




to the entrances of all the buildings of the complex




as in here




down to the smallest detail out on the street




and here is another one,  just in case you thought the same design was used for all the trees...




Inside the main, GE, building, Jose Maria Sert's mural, American Progress and Time, replaced the original by Diego Riviera which was removed by Nelson Rockefeller when the artist refused to scrap a panel glorifying Lenin. Rivera was fired in May 1933 and mounted police were stationed outside the Centre to break up the demonstrations that erupted in response. Rivera's panel Man at the Crossroads was chiseled off the walls in February 1934. This is one of the most notorious incidents of artistic censorhip in US history.




Beautiful glass panel inside the same building.


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