ESPAÑOL

This is my face on more than one occasion in terms of modern / contemporary art. It’s true that I do not know how to appreciate it (so I hope my criticisms do not offend any scholar in the subject) as I am not even by far an expert in classical art, but I do realize what I like when I see it, whether because I find it aesthetic, original or hardworked. My first criterion is that when something is good most people like it, may they understand what they are observing or not. These are two of the most important museums in New York, MoMA being one of the most outstanding in the world in its category, and from my profane point of view, it does not surprise me, because in my mind it is the best of this style that I have seen, way ahead of others like Tate in London or the contemporary part of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I literally stepped on an “artwork” consisting of a completely flat grey square lying on the floor in the middle of a room; When the security guard told me, I told him that I thought it was a carpet, and not only was he understanding, but he added “it happens to everybody…”. Maybe it’s my favorite (though, and it’s not about feathering my nest, the Contemporary Art Center in Malaga is also one of the best I’ve seen) because it has world-famous works, and less grey carpets than the others, but neither is free of more than one grotesque artwork. The third in contention would be Whitney Museum, of which I can not comment about, because I went right after visiting the MoMA and happened that I was tired of modern art and seemed to me clearly inferior, so I did not take a single photograph. The Guggenheim did not look less absurd to me, if perhaps I have the memory that it seemed even worse than the Whitney, but since I went 3 years later, I was more open-minded.

MoMA

HOW TO GET THERE

There are two buildings, but although the one in Queens is free (a suggested donation of $ 10 is requested), it is smaller, has reduced hours and is outside the tourist area, so we will focus on Midtown‘s: on 11 West 53rd Street, immediately north of Rockefeller Center. There are multiple options to arrive by metro, all in the orange or blue lines:

• Station 5 Av / 53 St, lines E and M.
• Station 7 Av, lines E, D and B.
• Station 57 St, line F.

SCHEDULES AND PRICES

• Open daily from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. Fridays open until 9pm.
• Adult admission: $ 25. BUT FRIDAYS FROM 4 PM TO 8 PM IS FREE; That’s when I came in, and since I’m not a fan of this type of art, I was very happy not to have to pay.

THE VISIT

• Audio guides are free.
• Tripods, flash or selfies sticks are not allowed.
• It has a cafeteria on the 2nd floor specialized in Italian food, a restaurant with a very pleasant terrace on the 5th floor, and two select rooms at garden level, the Modern restaurant (with two Michelin stars) and the Bar Room.
• There are 6 floors and two basements, but our visit will go to the main areas. At the entrance (floor 1) is the Garden of Sculptures, modern is understood, in front of which there is usually an exposed temporary artwork.

• 

  The official map does not indicate which artworks are in each of the floors, but the most important ones, which are the collection of paintings between 1880 and 1950, with paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Warhol or Dalí between others are on the 5th floor.

GUGGENHEIM

HOW TO GET THERE

It is at 1071 5th Av, in front of Central Park, between 88th and 89th streets, in a striking rounded building that is in itself more interesting than the exhibitions themselves. It is a few minutes walk north of the Met; the nearest subway station is the same as for this one, 86 St / Lexington, on green lines 4, 5 and 6. Closer are the 5ªAv bus stops with 86St and 90St, lines M1, M2, M3 or M4.

SCHEDULES AND PRICES

• Closed on Thursdays. Rest of days open from 10 am to 5:45 pm (Saturdays close at 7:45 pm).
• Adult Admission: $ 25. BUT SATURDAYS FROM 5 PM TO 7:45 PM IS FREE, although a suggested donation of $ 10 is requested. I paid $ 1 and I think I lost money, it is not that I was happy not to pay, it is that if I had paid $ 25 for this museum I would have felt terrible.

THE VISIT

• Audio guide is free; We can download its content in an App for our mobile.
• Tripods, flash or selfies sticks are not allowed.
• There is a cafeteria with views of Central Park on the 3rd floor and a restaurant that only opens from Friday to Sunday, costing brunch as a guide price, between $ 18 and $ 22.
• Although it has 7 floors, it is considerably smaller than the MoMA. Sometimes it has exhibitions of famous artists (for example, as of June 2018 there is an exhibition by Picasso), but the question is no longer whether the authors are known or not; in general, works are very rare, simple, and ultimately, disappointing. Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a thousand times better in my opinion, both for the design of the building and for the permanent exhibitions.

MORE MUSEUMS IN NEW YORK:

<MET              INTREPID SEA, AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM>

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