On The Set of New York Feature

I've been so busy lately as I recently transferred to a bigger place. I still walked on weekends but lagged on the upload of my pictures and writing this blog, as packing and other stuff occupied most of my free time. I will share instead a feature from the website onthesetofnewyork.com 

The editor of the site, Mark, emailed me last month. Part of his email read:

I came across your NYC blog this weekend, and must complement you on the fantastic images of New York’s Central Park. I’m assuming that you are a New York resident?

I was wondering if you would allow me to post some of your images on the website that I run – www.onthesetofnewyork.com – it is a dedicated site for New York based films and the locations around the city that they use. It has been running since November 2009 and brings in around 40,000 unique visitors a month. It also showcases photographs of NYC, some of which I’ve taken during my brief visits there.

Mark gave me some questions which I tried best to answer. As a result, he came up with this article. Thank you for featuring me and my blog, Mark! 

Enjoy everyone!

Gigi's Walking Pictures

11 March 2014

Taking a leisurely walk through New York’s Central Park in the height of winter is just one of the many visits to the city that Gigi Altarejos has made recently for her online blog. “My first blog post was on January 2012, when I lived and worked in Manhattan,” explained Gigi. “I work in Queens now, but always make a point to go and walk around the city at weekends.”

During her visits to the city, Gigi takes along her trusted Nikon camera and in the past couple of years has built up an online gallery consisting of thousands of images from the impressively powerful financial district skyline to the beautiful picturesque lakes of Central Park, Gigi has managed to seamlessly capture the real essence of the city. 

Gigi told otsoNY, “New York is best explored walking and I love the fact that you could do so any time of the day. I just love taking pictures and sharing them with friends who are not New York based. I walk every weekend and always take lots of photos. I think doing so makes your mind more open to the things around you. I usually walk in the park and this has made me appreciate nature.” Gigi added, “I count myself lucky that I live in a place where I can enjoy the seasons and so try to document its changes as much as I can.”

Asked about films set in New York, Gigi replied, “I have always enjoyed watching films based in New York. Home Alone 2, Coyote Ugly, Ghostbusters, The Day after Tomorrow and I really enjoy the Spiderman series. My favourite film would be Coming to America, as the hamburger joint the movie used for McDowell's was the Wendy's at the corner of the apartment where I used to live. It is so cool to see my apartment in the movie. What's sad though, is that the place was recently torn down to make way for another apartment complex.”

Gigi is one of the volunteer photographers at The High Line and recently crossed paths with fellow photographer, Annie Leibovitz. “Our meeting happened by complete chance. I joined the High Line Soup Experiment where all attendees gathered for a one-pot meal at a communal table and I didn't realise I was sitting opposite Annie Leibovitz until the person beside me mentioned it.”

If you want to see more of Gigi's photography, otsoNY has posted 2 new volumes in the Picture Gallery. Alternatively, you can read her blog or follow her on Twitter by clicking on the links.

B: mywalkingpictures.blogspot.com

T: www.twitter.com


Here are the links to the Picture Gallery

The PhotoGallery Vol. 7 

The PhotoGallery Vol. 8

Thank you again to Mark and onthesetofnewyork.com!

Paley on Park Avenue

This summer and on through fall, thirteen large metal sculptures by Albert Paley will grace Park Avenue. It is another project presented by the Fund for Park Avenue's Temporary Public Art Collection and the city's Department of Parks and Recreation.

Albert Paley is the first metal sculptor to receive the coveted Institute Honors awarded by the American Institute of Architects, the AIA’s highest award to a non-architect.
 
I've written about two previous art exhibits on Park Avenue. In the Spring of 2012, Park Avenue had Rafael Barrios, and after that, in the Summer it featured Niki de St. Phalle. Last Spring, it was Alexander Arrechea, I haven't written about it but took pics of all the sculptures for the project No Limits. All their creations were massive and eye catching, and the same holds true for Albert Paley's sculptures.

Near East 52nd Street flanked by the Seagram Building on the east and the Racquet and Tennis Club on the west, along the street median, lies the first artwork, the largest of the thirteen sculptures.

WXXI has an in-depth coverage of Albert Paley's work. After each pic of the sculpture, I will link on the artwork's title WXXI's spotlight page which includes a short description of the sculpture, a video, as well as Paley's sketches. 

The sculpture above is Progression.

The next sculpture is a burst of autumn colors, and one surprising royal blue feature standing out.

Each sculpture has a sign showing its name and the materials used. The artwork above is called Between the Shadows.

Walking further, I looked back at the Helmsley Building on 46th Street and had this view of Park Avenue.

At 54th Street is a tall beauty in silver. I think the buildings behind greatly complement the sculpture.

The artwork is aptly named Reflection. 

At the end of this continuous block of median is Paley's fourth sculpture in the series.

I like the contrast of the straight and wavy lines, as well as the dark and light colors. The piece is called Encore.

Then just across the street, at the start of another median is a show of red.

It looks like playful piece, maybe that's why it's called Jester.

The afternoon sun was reflecting on the buildings along the street. I think Park Avenue has one of the best architectures in the city.

The next sculpture is an all brown piece along 58th Street.

Why do I feel like I'm looking at the back of a cute cartoon mouse? Maybe because one of parts looks like a tail? Is this why this piece is called Counter Balance? Hmm ..

The view looking west from Park Avenue and 58th Street. You can see One57 Building which is still under construction. Upon completion, it will be the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.

Albert Paley's seventh sculpture in the series is another silver piece but this time much wider.

There are lots of different and contrasting angles on this piece, which is titled Variance.


The next three sculptures are all-brown pieces. After Variance comes this sculpture that looks like it's somewhat leaning.

It's aptly called Tilted Column.

The next piece is a somewhat straighter version of the previous one, in fact it looks like the two sculptures have the same base.

This piece is called Ambiguous Response.

On the above pic at the right of the sculpture is Christ Church. I had the chance to take some pictures of its beautiful interior a few months ago. You can see them on my flickr album, Along Park Avenue.

The tenth sculpture in the series looks like a column surrounded by wavy lines, some wide while some are very narrow strips.

The sculpture is called Cloaked Intention. Here's a closer look at some of its features.

On my way to the next sculpture, I happen to look up at the buildings and saw this. Four different structures looming up the Park Avenue skyline. I think a good caption would be The Four Towers, what do you think?

The next sculpture lies on the street median near the beautiful Central Presbyterian Church.

Another fitting title for the piece, it's called Composed Presence. Here's a closer look.

A little bit further along near the south end of the Park Avenue Armory is the twelfth sculpture in the series.

The piece is called Languorous Repose. Here's a close-up of some of it's details.

You can clearly see Albert Paley's name etched on the piece, as well as the year it was made.

The last and thirteenth piece in the series was glowing gold in the afternoon sun.

Called Envious Composure, it stands out at the median by the north end of the Park Avenue Armory.

WXXI has an extensive coverage on Albert Paley on Park Avenue, a total of six episodes. It is a behind-the-scenes story of what it takes to complete such a significant project.

Shot in high-definition, viewers will see firsthand the creation of the 13 sculptures and will learn the story behind them. “This is the most ambitious project that any sculptor in the last decade of this program has come up with,” explains Patterson Sims in the first episode. Sims serves as a member of the Sculpture Committee for the Fund for Park Avenue. In the Web series Paley and his team talk candidly about the work involved in this endeavor and the challenges they faced. WXXI.org/paleynyc also offers extended looks at each individual piece being created, photos from the studio, and social media links for more in-depth information and background.

You can watch all six episodes here. The attached vid below is a montage that briefly previews WXXI's Paley on Park Avenue: New York City.

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"No matter how good a sculpture is," said Mr. Paley, if it doesn't amplify the space it doesn't function."

How true!

For the rest of my Albert Paley on Park Avenue pics, here's the album on Flickr - Paley on Park Avenue.

NYC Summer Streets

August 4 was the first day of the NYC Summer Streets for 2012.  From 7 am to 1 pm, for the first three Saturdays of August, nearly seven miles of New York City's streets along Lafayette Street and Park Avenue will be opened up for everyone to play, run, walk and bike.

Walking on a vehicle-less street is an offer I couldn't refuse.  I started at the corner of 28th Street and 6th Avenue, then walked crosstown towards Park Avenue.  While at 5th Avenue waiting for the walk sign, I looked south and saw the Flatiron Building.

Looking north, my view was the Empire State Building and the clock tower of the Marble Collegiate Church.

Walking onward, I reached Park Avenue and saw people walking while some were jogging or in rollerblades.  There were a lot of bikers, too.  It was unusual to see Park Avenue free of vehicles, but a joy to walk on.

At the Schwarzenbach Building between 31st and 32nd Streets, I saw the Silk Clock or Wizard Clock.

According to Scouting New York:

It was designed by McKim, Mead & White, and artist William Zorach. Apparently, this is not Merlin, but is in fact Zoroaster, “the mastermind and doer of all things.” At his feet is a cocoon, and beyond sits a slave representing the “primitive forces and instincts of man.” But it gets even better: Zoroaster waves his wand on the hour, and “the slave swings a hammer against the cocoon, triggering the emergence of the ‘Queen of Silk’, tulip in her hand, and not until the hour has ceased striking does she disappear.”

Walking further I had another awesome view of the Empire State Building taken from 33rd Street.

From 40th Street to 46th Street along Park Avenue is the Park Avenue viaduct which provides a pedestrian-, bicycle-, and bus-free express route for taxicabs and other automobile traffic.  That Saturday, it was the other way around as the viaduct was vehicle-free and full of pedestrians and bicycles.

From the south, traffic from Park Avenue or the Park Avenue Tunnel enters a ramp which rises a "T" above 42nd Street, over the street-level entrance to Grand Central Terminal below; side lanes of Park Avenue descend from 40th to end at 42nd Street. The elevated roadway then passes in front of Grand Central Terminal and around it to the east, passing the MetLife Building and descending again to ground level through the east portal in the Helmsley Building, arriving at 46th Street. Traffic coming from the north reverses this pattern.

The beautiful clock on top of the Grand Central Terminal's facade featuring Mercury, Hercules and Athena carved by the John Donnelly Company, and designed by French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan greeted us as we came up the ramp.

Here's a closer look ..

That clock contains the world's largest example of Tiffany glass.  At the time of its unveiling (1914) this trio was considered to be the largest sculptural group in the world. It was 48 feet (14.6 m) high, the clock in the center having a circumference of 13 feet (4 m).

This clock is at the facade of Grand Central Terminal along 42nd Street. Standing on the ramp, here's my view of 42nd Street looking east.

If you look up from the street view, you can see the eagles jutting out near the top of the Chrysler Building.

And at ramp level is another beautiful building, which used to be the Bowery Savings Bank but now houses a Cipriani's restaurant.  The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1996. Here's a shot of the building's arches.

You can see one of the cast-iron eagles at the east side of the elevated roadway but since I decided to walk on the west side of the viaduct, I wasn't able to take a pic of the eagle. Here's a pic I took of the eagle some months ago.

I exited the eastern part of the Park Avenue viaduct through the Helmsley Building back to ground level, with the building's arches setting a nice view of Park Avenue.

Getting back into the street level of Park Avenue, I looked back to take a pic of the clock at the facade of the Helmsley Building.

After walking a few blocks, I came upon the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.  Look closely and you can see the gold eagle decorating its flag holder.

And looking back again at the Helmsley Building, I can now clearly see its tower from where I was standing.

A couple of blocks away is historic St. Bartholomew's Church.  The Cippolino marble used in its columns is unfit for New York’s climate and it has weathered badly.  Hopefully, there is some restoration work done.

Here's a pic of one of the church's bronze baptistry door along Park Avenue.

Walking further I saw some kids enjoying a huge inflatable chair in one of the buildings along Park Avenue. Guess it would make a good present to your couch potato friend.

In the same area, I passed by an open fire hydrant and some folks were enjoying the summer day getting wet.

By this time I was near the Seagram Building where Park Avenue's newest public art can be seen.  It features nine colorful gigantic works of Niki de Saint Phalle.  This is the first sculpture I came across, you can see and read about the rest on my previous blog.

After I got to the end of the Niki de Saint Phalle exhibit, it was already past 1 pm and traffic along Park Avenue has resumed.  However, I still continued walking up to 72nd Street in Central Park but instead of walking straight ahead along Park Avenue, I detoured to Central Park when I reached 60th Street.  That's the southeast part of Central Park where you can see the Pond and Gapstow Bridge.

I walked past many familiar places which I featured in some of my previous blogs.  On the way, I passed by the statue of Balto and couldn't resist taking a pic.

The NYC Summer Streets ended at 72nd Street in Central Park which is near the Conservatory Water.  I stopped there to have lunch at the Kerbs Ice Cream Café and watch the toy boats idly pass by. 

It was a tiring walk but made worthwhile by all the wonderful things I saw along the way, and most importantly, just by the sheer joy of walking.  The NYC Summer Streets ended last August 18.  I wasn't able to participate on the other Saturdays but I'm planning to walk again next year, hopefully, a longer one than my walk the first Saturday of August.

For the rest of my pics, here's the album on Flickr - NYC Summer Streets