New York Moving

During my visit to NYC last weekend, I (and a bunch of his friends) helped Wyeth move two vanloads of his stuff from Gowanus to Greenpoint. After the move was finished, we caught our breath up on the roof. Ahzz.

Brooklyn Historic Railway Association

Tunnel Exploration, originally uploaded by Nat Hansen.

I just returned from a long weekend in NYC with friends, concluding with a tour of an abandoned subway tunnel from the 1840s. The tour was organized by the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association.

We entered the tunnel from the middle of the street.

P.S.1

New York, Aug 16, 2008, originally uploaded by Nat Hansen.

There is an exhibit of contemporary Scandinavian art at PS1 right now. Reijo Kela's Video Diary held my attention. And I liked Fiona Banner's Bastard World in the "Flags, Guns and Dreams" exhibit, though probably not for the reasons that I was supposed to.

Koolhaas Houselife

The movie Koolhaas Houselife was showing at the The Storefront for Art & Architecture on a continuous loop. Houselife is a study of Rem Koolhaas's Maison à Bordeaux (see photos of the house here).

The movie follows the Bordeaux House's housekeeper around as she cleans the whimsical and bizarre features of the house. She vacuums a narrow metal spiral staircase she can barely fit the vacuum on, she complains about the modular, removable storage in the kitchen (drawers would be better, she says), she points out how the house doesn't have faucets that mix hot and cold water. There are brief segments on the variety of other workers who are responsible for keeping the house in shape: the gardener complains that the way the lawn is placed, it will inevitably get burned by reflected sunlight from a large metal door; the "house doctor" explains the operation of a glowing bollard, the "joystick", that you pull on when you want to open the front door; in the best scene of the movie, a whole crew of bureaucratic French handymen try to determine where leaks are coming from by turning on a hose, producing a massive waterfall that cascades down the living room wall and onto the TV. They then argue about what to do about the leak, and conclude that it's the responsibility of some other crew.

At one point, the TV is showing a scene from Tati's Mon Oncle featuring the absurd modern house with the metal fish fountain. There was some argument after the movie whether it, like Mon Oncle, is poking fun at modernism. The perspective on the house from those who have to maintain it is discouraging, and might suggest a criticism of modernism. But I doubt the problems of maintaining a house, especially a house as large as the Maison à Bordeaux, are uniquely modernist. Though it seems modernist architects should develop a way to keep those gigantic windows clean.

Liberty City

Liberty City, originally uploaded by Nat Hansen.

Taken from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

Photo by Melody.

The Mill

The Mill in Salt Point, NY.

Putnam County Drive

On the road from New York to DIA in Beacon.


The Mini's enormous speedometer is located in the center of the dashboard.


Washington DC's "No Taxation Without Representation" license plate.

Photos by Isaac.

Philosophy Floor

The philosophy floor at the Library Hotel.

Where's Trump-o?

See if you can find Donald Trump in this picture from the first round of the US Open.

New York Rodeo

The Painted Pony Rodeo, Lake Luzerne, NY.

Jay said that it's a telling fact about a rodeo that a clown is in charge of safety.

Lite Brite Neon

Outside Wy's studio, Brooklyn, NY.

The Rolls

More fun courtesy of Isaac & Jenny and the Manhattan Classic Car Club: the 1989 Rolls Royce Corniche II. You sit incredibly high off the ground, surrounded by all kinds of knobs and analog dials, including an analog temperature gauge. In the passenger seat, there was a champagne flute chiller by my right knee. And it's a convertible. As we cruised around Brooklyn with the windows down, no one asked us for some Grey Poupon, but we got lots of stares and one woman approached us at a light and said, "Is that a Rolls? Niiiice." I thought riding around in this kind of car would provoke a class war, but people seemed pleased just to see the Rolls roll by.

Long Island City

From the 45th Road-Courthouse Sq. subway stop. Near J & I's place.

Car Club

A New York policeman browsing inside the Manhattan Car Club.

Lumber

Lumber at City Joinery.