art (def.) – The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, form, movements or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.

 

Only in New York can you find the greatest diversity of art in all of its manifestations.  What will surprise you even more is the compassion the people and government of NYC have for the arts.  In fact back in 1982 under then Mayor Ed Koch, the Percent for Art Program was passed into law.  This program requires that one percent of the budget for eligible City funded construction projects be spent on artwork for City facilities.  Since its inception over 210 projects have been completed at a dollar value of over 26 million.

 

Here in New York you will find an abundant representation of all the arts. This includes (but is not limited to) fine arts, photography, sculpture, performing arts (dance, music and drama), architecture, decorative arts, craft, mixed, installation, etc.  Even conceptual art, a movement that began in England in the 1960s had its first exhibition right here in New York City. The place was the New York Cultural Center and the exhibit was called “Conceptual Art and Conceptual Aspects”.  We have included some additional information on conceptual art below.  We will cover the performing arts on a different page.

 

 

We are world renowned for our museums, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Frick Collection, The Rubin Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Jewish Museum, and The American Folk Art Museum.  These are but a few.  You have only to click on the Museums link to get an idea of the extraordinary range of interests represented by NYC museums and their collections.

 

 

If you are a collector, or simply an appreciator of fine art, you can stroll through NYC’s many galleries, most of which are free.  They tend to be clustered in various neighborhoods:  Chelsea, The East Village and Lower East Side, Soho, Midtown (57^th Street), Upper Madison Avenue (70’s) and elsewhere.  You will discover the classic to the avant-garde and everything in between.  If you can’t find it here, you won’t find it anywhere!   So come browse the galleries at Art Galleries in New York.

 

Besides being one of the most photogenic (and photographed) cities in the world, New York has a wealth of sites dedicated to photography. Many of our MUSEUMS have exhibits dedicated to photography, so you may want to check them out.  Some of the sites you may want to view are: The New York Public Library, The New York City Photo Gallery, The Aperture Foundation Gallery, International Center of Photography, Pace/MacGill Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery, Bonni Benrubi, Edward Houk Gallery  and Julie Saul Gallery. 

 

New York City has a wealth of monuments and sculptures - over a thousand.  The first great sculpture that most visitors see in New York is that beautiful lady located in the harbor-The Statue of Liberty.  There are over a dozen in Central Park alone. Near sailboat pond there is a larger than life statue of Alice (Alice in Wonderland) made out of bronze. Also nearby are the Mad Hatter and March Hare. West of the boathouse is Hans Christian with an open book in his hand. Others in the park include-Balto, King Ladislas Jagiello of Poland, Simon Bolivar flanked by Jose Marti and General Sherman. Sculptures are everywhere!  The Charging Bull in Bowling Green Plaza, George Washington on the top of the steps of Federal Hall, Giovanni Verrazzano/John Ambrose/John Ericsson all in Battery Park.   Also located in this area are the East Coast War Memorial, The Sphere (which stood in the plaza of the World Trade Center) and in the water on the west side is the American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial.  Heading uptown you will find Benjamin Franklin just outside of Pace University, Confucius in China Town, John Watts by Trinity Church, Nathan Hale and Horace Greeley near City Hall, and Vladimir Lenin on Houston Street.  There are two statues of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia-one at LaGuardia Place (near Bleecker St.) with the other one at Madison & Jefferson Sts. In Washington Square Park are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Guiseppe Garibaldi. Not far  from the park are Governors Peter Stuyvesant & Daniel Tompkins at St. Mark’s Church, Peter Cooper in Peter Cooper Square on East 7^th Street, General Phillip Sheridan at 7^th Avenue and 4^th Street, and Miguel de Cervantes Saaverdra near 5^th Avenue. A few others include Jackie Gleason at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Joan of Arc in Riverside Park, Abundance atop of the Plaza Fountain, Love on 55^th Street and Sixth Avenue, The Alamo (balanced cube in Astor Place) and many, many more. The New York City Statues site is just a great place for looking up your favorite statue.

   

 

 It would be almost impossible to furnish even a fair listing of NYC’s architecture. It is found anywhere and everywhere.  From St.Paul’s Chapel in lower Manhattan to the medieval Cloisters at the other end of Manhattan.  St. Paul’s is our oldest church and public building.  The Cloisters were designed and built from several wrecked French Monasteries. An interesting side note is that John D. Rockefeller, Jr. not only donated the building and land for the Cloisters. He also purchased the land across the river (Hudson) and donated it to the state of New Jersey to be kept as a park. Thereby creating an unspoiled view!  For the serious minded interested in NYC architecture, I would recommend reading New York-A Guide to the Metropolis by Gerard R. Wolfe, a great informative book.  We have several noteworthy sites of interest on New York architecture. They are: NYC-Architecture, Municipal Art Society of New York, Architecture Exhibits in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and Wikipedia.

 

 

Decorative arts; the functional art of interior design using ceramics, wood, furniture, textiles, paintings, etc.  In New York City there are numerous galleries, sites and museums dedicated to the decorative arts. To name but a few: The Museum of the City of New York,  Bard Graduate Center, and New York Few.  Many of the major Museums have exhibits of decorative art.  The International Expositions of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) hold an annual show here around April. Check SOFA for the date and times.

 

New York has an abundance of craft outlets and exhibits. Many are seasonal. We also have the American Craft Museum at the Museum of Arts and Design. To mention a couple: Lees Art Shop, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, Recycled Planet Store, Michaels Store, Make, Dersh Feather and more.

 

Installation art can be found at several locations. Take a look at: ArtLex and Art Installation. New York City has been home to some very famous outdoor installation art. In 2005 we were home to the Gates in Central Park ( Christo and Jeanne-Claude ). Ending on October 13, 2008 is The New York City Waterfalls in lower Manhattan.  A unique installation art exhibit is taking place at the Guggenheim Museum from October 26, 2008 to January 6, 2009. The "Revolving Hotel Room" by Carsten Holler allows guests to spend one night at the museum.  The exhibit is part of Guggenheim's  "anyspacewhatever" presentation.  Also check out our Museum page for additional information on current installation art exhibits.

 

 

Conceptual art can be found in many locations through out New York City.  Conceptual Art is art that is intended to convey an idea or a concept to the perceiver, rejecting the creation or appreciation of a traditional art object such as a painting or a sculpture as a precious commodity.  Many of New York’s museums have various exhibits on conceptual art. Please visit our Museum link and check for current showings. Some other sites that are of interest include: artlex., artnet, apexart, artnewyorkcity, and minusspace.