Fort Tyron Park on the
northern tip of Manhattan.
Get off the subway at
190th street, learn from my mistake and take the elevator,
although the neighborhood is nice, it's a long, steep, winding path
up. A rocky, leafy, hilly park with many paths going up and down and
around, with a spectacular view of the George Washington Bridge and
the NJ Pallisades. All paths lead to the Cloisters, a fantastic
little museum (now run by the Metropolitan) of medieval and
renaissance and earlier art.
Annunciation Triptych
(aka the Merode Altarpiece) by the workshop of Robert Campin, at the
Cloisters
The reason we have
abstract art today is because they were doing things like this in
1430. I remember talking about this painting in my college art history class. Amazing in its detail – the tiny angel delivering
the cross to just conceived Jesus, the candle smoldering to life from
the divine presence. The patron and his wife watching through the
doorway on one side panel, Joseph working away not knowing what's
about to hit him on the other. Tournai appears through the window
rather than Nazareth. I leaned in far enough to set off the YOU'RE
STANDING TOO CLOSE whistle and took an ipod photo after staring
gob-smacked for about 15 minutes (as opposed to the guy who was
walking through the galleries taking a picture of each object
seemingly so he could look at it later at home on his computer).
I'd recently just seen
Spike Lee's film 25th Hour and was impressed not only by
the film, but by the setting of its opening and climactic scenes, the
lovely little park along the East River overlooking the northern tip
of Roosevelt Island and the southern tip of Randall's Island. Also
great views of the Triborough Bridge and the Feelin' Groovy 59th
St. Bridge. Take the Lexington Ave. subway to the 86th
street stop and walk east till just beyond the point where you think
it might not be worth it, but once you go over the little hill and
the view presents itself, you'll be glad.