Thanks, giving time is over...

Back to reality. It was a good break in NYC though. I've to admit - I miss the hustle and bustle of the city life. Unlike Singapore though, there are places out of NYC that I could escape to. In fact, the best time I had throughout my trip was my trip to the Brooklyn Museum. The sun was shining brightly... space - new - the two words that came to my mind upon stepping out of the subway exit. It's definitely a treat in this part of USA. As if that was not enough, I was greeted by the sculptures of Auguste Rodin (yup, the thinker guy) the moment I turn towards the glass walls of the Museum. I saw 2 of its special exhibition - Ron Mueck's (a modern realist sculptor) and Annie Leibovitz's (portrait photographer). For $4 (student price) it was really a rare treat for my eyes.




I went to the museum with only the intention of scrutinizing Annie's personal collection of photographs. But Ron Mueck's exhibits was on the same level as Annie's - and it's too difficult to be missed. It's hard not to recognize his work and his name after seeing these sculptures. Not in any form of metal, Ron has incorporated the use of modern technology to realize the realism or reality. No photography was allowed and even though there are photos in the Brooklyn Museum's website, they don't justify the extent of the details the sculptor has put in. One must be there to be empowered by his work. Unexplainable emotions just brought tears to my eyes. His originality, his detailed observation and his enormous effort to plant each sculpture's hair - head, facial and body, the veins running through their body, the texture of their skin - with follicles and goose bumps to the little speck of dirt on the fingernails of his oversized sculptures - they just overpower you.




The exhibition of Annie Leibovitz's personal collection from 1988 - 2005 was obviously not a happy one. But you can tell she found joy in the midst of mourning for her 2 beloved - Susan Sontag and Samuel Leibovitz, her father. Out of the hundreds of photos in the collection (which included many familiar faces like the Bush Administration, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey...) it was the photos of her children, Susan and her family that captured my heart. One particular photo stood out - the silhouette of Susan standing in the middle of rock corridor of Petra, with the temple's facade as the silhouette's background. Yet again, another hard-to-describe-unless-you-are-there type of scenario. Simply breathtaking.

I've been lazy putting up photos/videos that I took in my camera. 3 more weeks... 3 more weeks and the semester will be done and I'll be back in Singapore for a month, well at least 2 weeks.