Meet Wendy @ MoMA PS1

Well friends, Brian and I are going to try to get this baby up and running again!

And at what better time than the opening of Wendy & the start of the MoMA PS1 Warm Up Music Series!

While we've been to PS1 a number of times, today was actually our first time at Warm Up.  We just so happen to know one of the designers of this year's winning Young Architects Program (YAP) Competition (!!!) so talk about a good excuse to get out there :)  Check it out!  And enjoy the photos I took below.

Wendy was definitely the highlight of our visit to PS1.  She's absolutely stunning and helped keep us cool on this very warm and humid day (how sweet is she!).  Make sure you take the time to view her at all angles and learn a little bit about how she is cleaning the air you breathe and is made of recyclable materials and is in general, awesome.

She also creates a beautiful backdrop to the great performances that you will see while at Warm Up.  Click here for the lineup for this summer and keep in mind that the drinks and food are bit on the pricey side.  Bring your own bottle of water so you can stay hydrated! You can refill inside the museum at one of their many water fountains.  Otherwise a bottle of water will cost you $2, beer $6, and M. Wells food $3-$10.

The art inside the actual PS1 building is a bit hit or miss, but for me the hits make it worth it.  Here is one of the hits from today:

Yes, the ceiling is cut open!

So now onto the part where I explain how you can do all of this on the cheaps!

First of all, any visit to PS1 can be free of charge with an admission ticket from MoMA.  The trick is to go to MoMA during Target Free Fridays (every Friday from 4-8pm).  Even these free admission tickets include free admission to PS1 on the back!  Double save!  My fave! ;)  Just make sure you go to PS1 within 30 days.

Fortunately, if you get into PS1 for free, you also get to see Wendy for free!  Unfortunately, if you want to go to a Warm Up event you still have to pay for a $15 Warm Up ticket. I know, I cried a little bit too. But on the plus side, the event is all day (2-9pm), you get constant musical entertainment and you get full access to the museum while you're there!  It's actually a pretty sweet deal.

Being among the art-obsessed, I went ahead and registered myself and Brian for dual MoMA membership today.  For $140 total, we both get free admission to MoMA, MoMA PS1, Warm Up, store discounts, etc.  Here's more info on membership.  Because of Target Free Fridays I've never actually paid admission to the MoMA or PS1.  And I go there at least 5 times a year.  At this point, I figure I can give back a little bit since the museum has provided me an abundance of entertainment and inspiration over the years.  So that's an option too depending on your level of love for the arts :)

ALSO while you're in the PS1 neighborhood, you might as well stop by 5 Pointz!  It might be gone soon :(.

July in Review

Wow, is it August already? All the hot, sticky days have seemed to run together into a big gooey mess.

So how was your July?

I know the blog hasn't been so active, but don't worry, that doesn't mean we've given up the cheap lifestyle. Quite the contrary.

In July, summer concerts were in full effect.

We hit up the Siren Festival at Coney Island. Ted Leo was great and Night Marchers were my band discovery of the show. Like every day this summer it was stupid hot out so we saw a few sets and then hit the beach to relax to the sights and sounds of drunk teenagers getting in fights.

Next it was another Brooklyn summer institution, the Jelly Pool Parties! Windnie went shopping while I met up with some Brooklyners to see Murder City Devils. Good times were had and a lot of free Amp was drank. Again, hot as balls, shade at a premium, dehydration: inevitable. But man, was that a great show!

Then Weasel came to visit! He wanted to check out Cap'n Jazz and Lightening Bolt at the Pool Parties but since they don't really like water they moved the show indoors at the first sight of rain and promptly sold out. Weasel was a good sport however and that night we went to that Sunday institution: Asssscat 3000 at UCB! I think he had a good time, or at least pretended to.

Let's see, then there was a grill out and Sonic Youth at Prospect Park Bandshell to Celebrate Brooklyn! Grilling out is awesome! And it was a good time, laying on a blanket outside the fence and pretending we were from the 90s.

Last but not least, Lincoln Center's Out of Doors concert series. We went to check out Balkan Beat Box but weren't that impressed. Maybe because they had to follow Mucca Pazza who were incredible!

[Added by Windnie]: We also went to the Dragon Boat Festival---where I fell asleep. But pre-nap it was nice!

Sprinkle in a couple outdoor movies, a trip to the Met, some half priced Pinkberry and a big dose of Windnie moving into her new apt just up the street and you've pretty much summed up our July.

Hope yours has been just as great! A lot of these fests still have plenty of shows left in them so be sure to check them out in August!

A day at the Meadow

Over the long July 4th weekend the Mets were playing my hometown Reds so we thought we'd head up to Flushing Meadows and explore before checking out the game that night.

Flushing Meadows has a long history and a ton of activities inside!

First up, the Queens Zoo. This zoo is a lot like Central Park and Prospect Park Zoo, with several exhibits set up in a ring around a sea lion pit. The zoo was small but fun.  The focus is on animals from the Americas. There is also an aviary inside a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome. The structure was originally part of the 64 World's Fair (more on that later).

Flushing Meadows has been home to 2 World's Fairs in 1939 and 1964 and there are still remnants of both events. The Queens Museum of Art is housed in a building from the 1939 World's Fair. Though the building was closed when we were there, it is worth checking out. It fits our budget ($5 suggested donation) and houses temporary and permanent exhibits including the New York City Panorama. The Panorama is a model of the city, originally built for the 1964 world's fair and it includes EVERY building in the city built before 1992, at 9,335 sq ft and with 895,000 individual structures (and airplanes!) it is absolutely worth the trip.

The 1964 World's Fair introduced us to Tomorrowland (presented by GM) helping pave the way (heh heh) for the automobile domination of much of the country. But transportation planning philosophies aside, the 64 world's fair also gave us the Unisphere!

The fountain has been out of use for awhile but that should change soon with the restoration project currently underway.

Unfortunatly, another relic from the 64 World's Fair has not aged as well...

It seems like every world's fair has a signature overlook tower. Seattle has the Space Needle, San Antonio has the Tower of the America's, and Knoxville has the Sunsphere. New York has 3 towers, all built as part of the New York State Pavilion. While I believe the other towers mentioned are all currently servicing tourists, the New York State Pavilion looks like this:

Which I mean looks kinda cool, but in the worst sort of way. I think the city is supposed to be fixing it up but I don't think there is a time table.

After wandering around the park, we thought we might try the Queens Botanical Garden, which was started for the 1939 World's Fair and moved for the 1964 World's Fair. After a long walk under some highways and across a pedestrian bridge we found this:

Looks pretty closed huh? We thought so too. Upon further review of the garden map, it turns out that this is the "Meadow" section of the park and the entrance is on the opposite side. Someone needs to work on signage around this place. If you want to try your luck the admission price shouldn't break your small wallet ($4, $2 for students). If you've been there in the past you should note the new admission price since this is the first season they've charged. During less "green" seasons you can still get in free.

So after a long day exploring Flushing Meadows we headed over to Citi Field. On a holiday weekend, with the first place Reds in town, there weren't a lot of available tickets on resale sites (Stubhub, etc) and the scalpers weren't really in the mood to do business with me and my cheapness. We resigned to buy the cheapest seats in the house:

And then move down to here:

And then we watched the Reds win with help from a controversial call that pissed off all the Mets fans! Fun times in Queens!

Art for the rich (and cheap)

Did you know this painting recently sold for $106.5 million, making it the most expensive work of art ever sold? The public's only been able to see the thing once since 1951. How much do you think someone would have to pay to see THE MOST VALUABLE WORK OF ART IN THE WORLD?

How bout free.99?

Here's the deal: The buyers of fancy pants things need to see them up close and personal before they wave their paddles around, sooooo auction houses have free previews before the big event-- AND they're open to the public. You probably won't be able to see Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur anytime soon, but you'll be able to see plenty of other priceless works of art (actually they are price-full). In addition to art, auction houses sell antiques, jewelry, watches and other things rich folks want to buy. Probably the 2 most famous NYC auction houses are Christie's and Sotheby's but knowing New York there are probably plenty more.

As we are prone to doing here at Big Apple Small Wallet we used ourselves as guinea pigs and went to check out the collection of Michael Crichton, who, in addition to teaching us all how to create dinosaurs using old mosquitoes, hung out with some pretty happenin dudes. We dressed in our finest tshirts and perused works from Jasper Johns, Lichtenstein, Murakami, Warhol, etc etc etc.  It was basically like seeing a once in a lifetime exhibit for free!

Auction houses do add one interesting element to a traditional trip to the art museum: Anticipated selling prices. You'll be shocked to find that even though you can paint like Rothko, you aren't likely to pull down 8 figures as listed next to his painting. But wander around! Act like you might be waving your paddle around for some oil on canvas! Here's what's coming up soon:

Sotheby's


Christie's


Ooooooo a wine auction, now that's fancy pants.