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Looking
north on Fifth Avenue from the steps of the Met. 6:40 PM.
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After
a day of sun and sun showers, heavy breezes ushered
in the first cool temperatures of the autumn season by nightfall.
“ Here lies El Greco, nature inherited
His art, Art his knowledge (the goddess of the rainbow)
Iris, his colors, Phebus (the son of Apollo) his light, and
Morpheus (the god of dreams) his shadows” |
• Epitaph
by poet Luis de Gongora
commemorating the death of El Greco
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Making
our way up the stairs to the El Greco exhibit
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Over
at the Met, Iris Cantor, president of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Foundation, and Philippe de Montebello,
the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, hosted a preview
and reception to celebrate the opening of a spectacular exhibition
of the works of El Greco.
It’s a huge exhibition of 70 works by the great 16th century
painter Demenikos Theotokopoulos, known to the ages as El Greco.
It spans the whole of his career from his origins as a painter of
icons in his native Crete to his work in Venice and Rome and his
definitive move to Toledo, Spain. Even the least discerning, untrained
eye can grasp a clear vision of the progression of this great artist
who painted “modern” more than five centuries ago.
The
Museum is closed on Monday, so it was a special privilege for members
and their guests to have a preview of this great show that opens
officially on October 7th. I saw Jimmy Galanos,
the great California couturier who was in town for this reception
sponsored by his old friend, as well as another mutual friend of
both Galanos and Mrs. Cantor, Ginny Mancini, wife
of the late Henry Mancini. Among the guests: Kathy
and Rick Hilton, Barry and Donna Slotnik, Tony Randall, Judy and
Peter Price, Francine LeFrak and Rick Friedberg, Richard Feigen,
Liz and Damon Mezzacappa, Ambassador Carl and Barbara Lee Diamonstein
Spielvogel, Marife Hernandez Bell and Joel Bell, Alexis Gregory.
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View
of Toledo. El Greco. Oil on canvas.
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Iris Cantor
who lives on both Coasts but is a New York girl by birth, is the
widow of the late founder of Cantor Fitzgerald and currently the
number one woman philanthropist in the nation. The Cantors were
major collectors, especially of Rodin sculptures, and they shared
their largesse and their wealth, a legacy which Mrs. Cantor continues,
with many important American museums.
The Met, as anybody who has ever set foot in the place knows, is
one of the great wonders of the world and the jewel in the crown
of New York. Since its formation in 1870, it now contains more than
two million works of art from ancient to modern times. There is so
much of something for anyone and everyone, a veritable treasure trove. |
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Upon
entering the El Greco exhibit
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Jimmy
Galanos
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Philippe
de Montebello
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Richard
Cohen
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In
the Met for the El Greco exhibit
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At
the same time the El Greco preview reception was going on, directly
across the park at the Met’s sister museum, founded only
a few years after the Met, the American Museum of Natural History,
they were holding a launch party of SonicVision, the new “mind-warping
digitally animated alternative music show in the museum’s
Hayden Planetarium. Produced in collaboration with one of the
world’s most famous musical artists today, Moby,
SonicVision, which is made possible by sponsorship and technological
support of Sun Microsystems, is presented in association with
MTV2, and is billed as a “roler-coaster ride through
fantastical dreamspace.”
The production features musical tracks, mixed by Moby, of Radiohead,
U2, David Bowie, Coldplay, Queens of the Stone Age, Prodigy, The
Flaming Lips, Fischerspooner, Spiritualized, Audioslave, Stereolab,
Boards of Canada, David Byrne and Brian Eno, Goldfrapp, Zwan, White
Zombie, and, of course Moby. It’s a one of a kind,
computer generated musical and visual experience, using next-generation
digital technology to illuminate the Planetarium’s dome with
a dazzling morphing of colorful visions.
Both museum previews also hosted a party – a buffet reception
at the Met and a party with a live DJ at the Museum of Natural History.
Great creativity on exhibition, a half a millennium apart, separated
by no more than a quarter mile through the Park perfectly articulates
the greatness of this metropolis of ours. |
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SonicVision,
the new digitally animated alternative music show in the museum’s
Hayden Planetarium
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And
then, just down the block and around the corner from the Met, interior
designer and decorator Susan Zises Green was
hosting a fund-raiser for the Women’s Campaign Fund,
the bipartisan organization which encourages and financially
assists women running for public office from local to national.
Lotsa New Yorkers turning out to give their support including Susan
Cullman, Renta Bartos, Arie Kopelman, Elaine Sargent, Tobie
Roosevelt, Laura Pels, Barbara Mosbacher, Aggie Gund and Daniel
Shapiro, Jeff Lewis of the Heinz Foundation, Marlene
Hess, Marnie Pillsbury, Leonard and Louise Riggio, Stewart
Mott, Barrett Freylinghuysen, Gail Hilson, Maisie Houghton.
A busy busy night in New York, and still only Monday. |
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