Sightseeing in Our Own City

Last week I was so busy posting about our dream-trip to Paris that I wasn't even able to keep you up to date on some of the fun sightseeing we were busy doing as soon as we got back to New York!  One of the highlights of our first week back was the day that the Kiddo and I spent with our friend Liz Rubincam (who took the following two photos).

We started out at one of our favorite lunch spots on the Upper West Side, Hampton Chutney Company.  There we indulged in the restaurant's trademark dosas and waaay delicious cardamom iced coffee.  Not only is the food scrumptious, but the Kiddo loves hanging out there, playing in the sunny window seat and reading from the library of children's books they have on hand.  

Afterwards, we bundled up and headed across Central Park to the Whitney...

...where we took in two incredible exhibits, William Eggleston: Democratic Camera and Alexander Calder: The Paris Years.

Calder and Eggleston are two of my favorite artists, so it was a treat to see both shows in one location.  Click here to watch a short but juicy clip showing some of the highlights of the Eggleston show as the artist's son speaks about the work (I attempted to embed the video, but ran into technical difficulties!  My appologies).  Here are some of my favorite pieces from the show:

As much as we enjoyed the photographs, the Calder show was just out-of-this-world magical, whimsical, and wonderful.  What a spirit of exploration, fun, and invention Mr. Calder possessed.  Here are some tidbits, culled from the Whitney website:

"Tight Rope Artists" from "Calder's Circus"

A young Alexander Calder, pliers in hand, in his studio in Paris

The five suitcases in which Calder transported "Circus"

"Josephine Baker IV" wire sculpture

Towards the end of the exhibition, near the display of Calder's amazing wire portraits of Josephine Baker, there was an absolutely arresting archival short film of Ms. Baker performing her signature dance moves.  The Kiddo and I must have stood there and watched it loop a dozen times, and ever since I have been a little obsessed with learning more about this fabulous icon. To feed my craving for more knowledge about her, I'm thinking of ordering this from Amazon. 

Can any of you direct me towards great footage/books/information on La Baker?