My old friend DaBella and I met up at MoMA on Sunday with the vague intention of going to the Cezanne-Pissarro show (or was it Matisse-Picasso?). However, the exhibition was so crowded that we ran away screaming and accidentally ended up in the Lee Friedlander retrospective. An excellent turn of events. While our first impression of the show was a nice-but-slightly-creepy security guard telling us that "Nothing in here is as lovely as you two," we got down to the business of being completly blown away by tiny little photos of unimportant things.
Like many others, I knew Mr. Friedlander as "that guy who made the weird reflection pictures in the 60's." After seeing about 10,000 other pictures (the show was rather extensive), I now know him as "that guy who made a whole bunch of really, really cool pictures including those weird reflection pictures from the 60's and 70's, excellent nudes, some pretty but un-cheesy landscapes, and the best goddamn photograph of a fire hydrant ever; also, that guy whose life's work can provide a endless sources of creative and silly storytelling by schoolchildren not to mention 25-year-old arts professionals." Worth a visit, but you'll need a cocktail when you're done. And golly ... now comes the glowing recommendation of Terrace 5 (don't google it or you'll be scared by Dante). After considering the "abstract expressionism" I ordered a "cubism" from our handsome young waiter in an adorable uniform of penguin polo shirt and black pants. The bus girl (in the same sexy uniform) brought me a glass full of concord grape juice ice cubes and poured some delightful mixture of lemony vodka over the top from a shaker. The cubes instantly turned the drink a delightful rosy purple -- although, honestly, the color I associate most with cubism is tan -- and the only thing that could have made it more delightful was if Danny Meyer had invented some kind of grown-up peanut butter sandwich to accompany it. Kicked the old cafe's stodgy old butt even if I do miss the droog design lights.
