Museum of Modern Art | Food, Art & Culture

“Well, the truth is, we cannot speak other than by our paintings.”

– Vincent van Gogh, July 1890

I’ve been excited to see this moving ever since I saw the trailer. Loving Vincent is a biopic about Vincent van Gogh, and in particular, the circumstances of his death. It is the first fully painted animated feature film. It is made up of 65,000 frames hand-painted by a team of 125 artists. Ever since I took an Art Humanities class ten years ago, I have been fascinated by van Gogh’s paintings. In fact, the first van Gogh I ever saw was The Starry Night when I was in New York City at MOMA. I just recently saw Bedroom at Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum. Filmbar in Phoenix has added many shows of Loving Vincent because they keep selling out. The film has already been nominated for many awards and I look forward to seeing it.

In 2009, I saw van Gogh’s The Starry Night at MOMA and Bedroom at Norton Simon

The Starry Night

Bedroom

I will never forget the first time I visited Manhattan. I had my first taste of New York when I stayed over briefly on my way to Boston in 2006. In the summer of 2009, I walked out of this exit at Penn Station for the first time and was completely overwhelmed by the fast pace and the tall buildings. Listening to the taxi cabs honking and the sounds of sirens bouncing off the buildings, I remember telling myself how beautiful this place is. I’m a native of Arizona and New York City is a completely different animal to us newbies. I ate my first slice of NYC pizza at Spinelli’s Pizzeria and caught my first glimpse of the Empire State Building. I returned later that year with my girlfriend and we had a wonderful time exploring the city. We visited Lady Liberty, Central Park, Times Square, MOMA, Canal St and saw Phantom of the Opera. NYC has a special place in my heart and this time I’m excited to spend a good of my week here for various art and photography projects and events.

My first trip to New York City – 2009

New York Taxis

Empire State Building

Tourists

Spinelli’s Pizzeria

Madison Square Garden

Hotel New Yorker

I Love NYC

Fashion Ave

My return trip – 2009

Central Park

Strawberry Fields

Staten Island

Staten Island Ferry

Statue of Liberty

Ground Zero

Joie de Vivre – Mark Di Suvero

Starry Night – Vincent van Gogh

Radio City Hall

One Times Square

Naked Cowboy

Ed Sullivan Theater

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Guggenheim Museum

Carnegie Deli

Flat Iron Building

Empire State Building

Canal St.

9/11 Memorial

Phantom of the Opera

Carmine’s

Cheesecake at Hot & Crusty

Imagine – Central Park

American Museum of Natural History

Yankee Stadium

The Rink at Rockefeller Center

Prometheus Statue at Rockefeller Center

NYC Horse Carriage

Pizza at Cafe 71

Grand Central Terminal

After a great time in Philly, I headed on over on an Amtrak to New York City. I’m a huge fan the Amtrak. It’s comfortable and convenient. I was able to get some photo projects done on my few hour trip to Penn Station. I spent my first hour just walking along Fashion Ave and taking in sites of the Empire State Building, Macy’s, Madison Square Garden and other iconic buildings. I was surprised on how easily I knew my way around. My my first destination of the day was the Chelsea neighborhood for some foodie adventures.

2013