P.S. 1 is a contemporary art museum located in Long Island City, Queens, NYC, NY. The museum has been affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) since 2000. The building contains exhibits by some of the most progressive emerging artists who are pushing the boundaries of art through various media. Over time the museum has become a major hotspot for visitors from all around the globe. If you are looking for a museum that isn’t filled with marble statues and oil paintings from our more distant past, then make your way into Queens and view the modern art exhibits at P.S. 1.
My first experience visiting the museum was on a class trip when I was 10 years old, but looking back, I’m sure we were only able to view age appropriate exhibits. I thought that the exhibits were weird, but very interesting and cool at the same time. I went again in high school. I remember two exhibits in particular. The first was a record that created music via instruments on the wall as it revolved rather than the record simply playing music. The second was sculptures made out of stacks of corrugated cardboard from pizza boxes and cut into shapes with a box cutter. I found them both fascinating, and clearly I remember them. I have been back many times as an adult. I have never been disappointed after a visit to P.S. 1. Sometimes after I left, I felt quite disturbed by some of the content that I just viewed, but that’s a totally different issue. Much of the art pushes the limits of your emotions and senses. If someone asked me how to describe the exhibits in the museum, I would describe it exactly the same way I did after my first visit. It is weird. It is cool. It makes you think. It is art.
I brought a friend from out of town to the museum one afternoon this summer. When we pulled up to the museum, we found metered parking across the street. Before entering I pointed out a building I would have shown them in the past. Across the street from P.S. 1 once stood 5 Pointz a building covered in murals and pieces from some of the most talented graffiti artists from around NYC and the world, while the interior was used by artists as studio space. Sadly, the building no longer serves as an open air art exhibit and a center for the history of graffiti culture in NYC.
We made our way into the museum and paid the entry fee. As of the summer of 2014 the cost was $10. We were given a map of the current installations and began to explore the museum. At the time there were six summer exhibitions. We made our way through each one taking our time to view the art and discuss various pieces of work. As usual, some of the exhibits were very avant-garde. One so much so that I would prefer to not describe its content on this website as the subject matter is not age appropriate, but it was mind bending to say the least. I’m not going to spend the time to describe each exhibit in detail as the collections change over time and may not be available for viewing by the time you make your way to the museum. Rather a few not so random coincidences occurred during our time at the museum. It was quite funny that one artist had a collection of postcards they sent almost fifty years ago, and many of them were from the country my friend is from. Another exhibition was the artwork of a Thai artist named Korakrit Arunanondchai. It was funny that after just coming back from Thailand, there is an artist who had a large part of his collection dedicated to altering photos of a place I just visited a few weeks prior. When I was in northern Thailand I visited Wat Rong Khun or the White Temple in Chiang Mai. Arunanondchai took images from White Temple and then altered them with gold paint and denim fabric (see above). After about two hours of exploring the entire summer collection, we made our way out of the museum.
Following our time at P.S. 1, we took a short drive to Long Island City Piers for some photos of the Manhattan skyline from Queens. Officially referred to as Gantry Plaza State Park, the 12 acre park sits along the Queens waterfront with views of the United Nations building directly across the East River and the Empire State Building along with the rest of the midtown Manhattan skyline just behind it. The park has basketball courts, handball courts, playgrounds and many places to sit and eat or enjoy the view. Also there are the piers which extend out into the water for even greater opportunities for amazing photographs. After taking some photos and strolling through the park it was time to grab some dinner. We didn’t do this, but if you continue north on Vernon Blvd. from the state park to around Broadway, you can find the Noguchi Museum right across from Costco as well as the outdoor Socrates Sculpture Park. By the way, the cheapest and best lunch or daytime snack you can find is at Costco. It’s your standard pizza, frozen yogurt, churros, ice cream, hot dogs and items like that for a dollar or two. You get a big cup and can refill your soda if you want, despite the efforts of our former Mayor Bloomberg.
Since we were already in Long Island City, and it was almost evening, I figured it would be a good idea to go somewhere to watch the sunset. Penthouse 808 Asian Bistro & Lounge is located on the roof of the Ravel Hotel right next to the 59th Street Bridge. (It is also referred to as the Queensboro Bridge and currently renamed the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.) A bunch of friends made some passing comments about the restaurant, so I figured we would give it a try and the timing was just right. The restaurant served a sushi bar style pan-Asian dining menu. The food was better than I thought it was going to be, but it was quite overpriced. Technically you were paying for the food as much as you were the view, which was beautiful as the sun began to set behind the Manhattan skyline. It was another great photo opportunity where many people were quickly snapping their cameras and quickly uploading their images to the internet, myself included, but hey I was working for the website. For your average New Yorker, I would say it was slightly overrated and have seen views similar for much less. However, for any guest of New York, it provided a good meal and a great view of Manhattan at the same time. I don’t think I would rush there again, but I wouldn’t say no to someone if they asked me to join them. Personally, I would rather visit a new restaurant from the list of countless locations in the continually developing area in Long Island City.
After a long day in Long Island City I wanted to make a quick stop in Williamsburg to pick up some dessert at the Momofuku Milk Shop. The location is only one of a number across New York City. It is a bakery dessert store developed by renowned chef David Chang and part of the Momofuku Restaurant Group. The restaurant, which is more like a take-out stand with a few chairs, serves a variety of soft serve ice creams, milkshakes, cookies, pies and other pastries, in addition to hot and cold beverages. You can also get pork or vegetable buns, but I was there for dessert. In hindsight, whenever I am there I should always buy some pork buns and eat them later. I have an affinity for good pork buns. I recommend the fruity cereal ice cream or milkshake if you like Fruity Pebbles. All of the baked goods I have tried have been delicious. If you are aiming to be healthy, then this is probably not the location for you, nor should you be eating dessert after such a meal. However, if you have a sweet tooth and are in the neighborhood, I recommend a quick stop for a treat in your travels. In my case it was a great way to end the evening.