[Translation] Myojo 0902 Shige -Aoi Hitorigoto- Vol. 32
Shige shares his memories and thoughts from his trip to NY.
He knows his Picasso and loves avant-garde art but is a penny-pincher XD
Unexpectedly, no Koyama punchline... I would have liked some tidbits of how you two shared a bed at least.
Vol. 32 -Mixture-
Last month, I went to NY with Koyama. It seems like I'm always being summoned overseas in 2008, and I think I've been buying air tickets whenever I have free time. I want to leave behind my footprints in places where I've never been before. It might be a very normal impulse but I'm now at the age where I can act on it. I truly feel that I'm in my twenties at times like this.
To be frank, I hated NY. Of course it was just my prejudice before I actually went there. In the course of this essay series, I've also written things like "I just don't like Hollywood movies" and some other examples of my dislike for America. (Even though I've been going to Hawaii every year) But it's in my nature to take up the challenge of things like the people I dislike and food that looks disgusting. Because I'm always very curious and there's a part of me that wants my feelings of dislike to be proven wrong, therefore I chose to travel to NY this time.
To put it bluntly, I had the image of NY being "a little tacky". Even though it's the center of entertainment, the easy-to-understand shows are enjoyable but follows the same old pattern, presenting something unrealistic yet the realities of life is revealed in it. That was my impression of it. Well I know I'm really saying too much when I've never even been there before, but when I think about it now, I think it might have been a feeling close to "jealousy".
I watched Broadway musicals there, shopped at SOHO and 5th Avenue and went for walks at Central Park. Personally, I was overwhelmed by what I saw at museums like the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I guess it depends on your preference but for someone like me who loves avant-garde art, I discovered new artists that I like and got to take a close look at the transition in Picasso's work. I felt it was worth it to come all the way to NY. What I also found interesting was that at Metropolitan Museum of Art, you could pay any amount below $20 dollars for the entrance fee. In other words, you can decide on the entrance fee by yourself. I thought to myself, what a passive museum and the stingy me was looking in my wallet for a 1 dollar note but of course at times like this I only had 10 dollar notes with me. And since it's uncool to ask for change, I reluctantly took out one note. Such a memory was added to my trip.
Seasonally, it was right in the middle of autumn and the fallen red, yellow and brown leaves at Central Park formed maple paths, ducks were floating along motionless in the pond. The speed at which time flows in the park was different from that in Japan and right in the middle of this relaxed time, I thought about NY.
Something that I thought was a flashy show but turned out to be just an odd artwork of something like a canvas painted all blue. Occasionally, historical churches built a few hundred years ago appear right in the middle of streets lined with modern skyscrapers. Species of two opposite extremes, co-existing with perfect nonchalance. They inspire one another, blending together but not completely. That wavelength and atmosphere is something that you can't feel anywhere else except in NY. It feels like the beautiful paths at Central Park of scattered fallen leaves taught me that.
Still, American pizza always makes me feel "NY!". ...Ah, that wasn't "New York" but "Naze ka Yamerarenai". [Note: Somehow I just can't stop (eating)] ...Sorry about that.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thanks for reading
He knows his Picasso and loves avant-garde art but is a penny-pincher XD
Unexpectedly, no Koyama punchline... I would have liked some tidbits of how you two shared a bed at least.
Vol. 32 -Mixture-
Last month, I went to NY with Koyama. It seems like I'm always being summoned overseas in 2008, and I think I've been buying air tickets whenever I have free time. I want to leave behind my footprints in places where I've never been before. It might be a very normal impulse but I'm now at the age where I can act on it. I truly feel that I'm in my twenties at times like this.
To be frank, I hated NY. Of course it was just my prejudice before I actually went there. In the course of this essay series, I've also written things like "I just don't like Hollywood movies" and some other examples of my dislike for America. (Even though I've been going to Hawaii every year) But it's in my nature to take up the challenge of things like the people I dislike and food that looks disgusting. Because I'm always very curious and there's a part of me that wants my feelings of dislike to be proven wrong, therefore I chose to travel to NY this time.
To put it bluntly, I had the image of NY being "a little tacky". Even though it's the center of entertainment, the easy-to-understand shows are enjoyable but follows the same old pattern, presenting something unrealistic yet the realities of life is revealed in it. That was my impression of it. Well I know I'm really saying too much when I've never even been there before, but when I think about it now, I think it might have been a feeling close to "jealousy".
I watched Broadway musicals there, shopped at SOHO and 5th Avenue and went for walks at Central Park. Personally, I was overwhelmed by what I saw at museums like the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I guess it depends on your preference but for someone like me who loves avant-garde art, I discovered new artists that I like and got to take a close look at the transition in Picasso's work. I felt it was worth it to come all the way to NY. What I also found interesting was that at Metropolitan Museum of Art, you could pay any amount below $20 dollars for the entrance fee. In other words, you can decide on the entrance fee by yourself. I thought to myself, what a passive museum and the stingy me was looking in my wallet for a 1 dollar note but of course at times like this I only had 10 dollar notes with me. And since it's uncool to ask for change, I reluctantly took out one note. Such a memory was added to my trip.
Seasonally, it was right in the middle of autumn and the fallen red, yellow and brown leaves at Central Park formed maple paths, ducks were floating along motionless in the pond. The speed at which time flows in the park was different from that in Japan and right in the middle of this relaxed time, I thought about NY.
Something that I thought was a flashy show but turned out to be just an odd artwork of something like a canvas painted all blue. Occasionally, historical churches built a few hundred years ago appear right in the middle of streets lined with modern skyscrapers. Species of two opposite extremes, co-existing with perfect nonchalance. They inspire one another, blending together but not completely. That wavelength and atmosphere is something that you can't feel anywhere else except in NY. It feels like the beautiful paths at Central Park of scattered fallen leaves taught me that.
Still, American pizza always makes me feel "NY!". ...Ah, that wasn't "New York" but "Naze ka Yamerarenai". [Note: Somehow I just can't stop (eating)] ...Sorry about that.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thanks for reading