Springtime at The Cloisters

On Saturday we spent our afternoon at The Cloisters Museum in northern Manhattan. Set in Fort Tryon Park the museum is dedicated to the art and architechture of medieval Europe. The Cloisters was assembled from architectural elements that date from the twelfth through the fifteenth century. The building incorporates elements from five medieval cloisters and from other monastic sites located in southern France. Exhibited in the museum is approximately three thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from the ninth to the sixteenth century and includes illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, enamels, ivories, and tapestries. It was really quite a beautiful collection and I highly recommend a visit.

After we finished at the museum we walked in and around Fort Tryon Park, stopping to smell the roses (and the tulips, pansies, blossoms etc.) as we went. Spring really is the most special time to be in New York. The colour and beauty of all the gardens are such a beautiful contrast against the concrete filled blocks. Weekends like this remind us just how lucky we are to be living in such an amazing and diverse city. I heart New York!

The Getty Museum

While in Los Angeles this past week I spent an afternoon at the Getty Museum perched up in the hills above LA. It wasn't the clearest of days so the view was a little hazy but I could still appreciate the beautifully designed architecture, the landscape and the vast breathtaking views. These were more of a highlight to me than the art itself, which is saying a lot as I love a good art museum. I would love to go back one day on a perfectly clear day. The lady taxi driver that dropped us off to the airport yesterday said that on a clear day you can see all the way to the mountains and out to Catalina Island. Just another reason to get back to LA again soon.

Savage Beauty

If you are planning to visit New York between now and August 7th I highly recommend a visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and in particular the exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

Even if you are not a McQueen fan you can not argue that this exhibition isn't hauntingly beautiful. An incredible tailor each piece is perfectly constructed by a highly skilled craftsman. He once said, “Everything I do is based on tailoring.” McQueen’s approach to design combined the precision and traditions of tailoring and patternmaking with the spontaneity and improvisations of draping and dressmaking. It is this ability to blend discipline and impulse, that defines McQueen’s uniqueness. A quality that can't be taught or replicated.

The Savage Beauty exhibition also offers an insight into McQueen's design inspirations. He was incredibly imaginative and innovative. He was passionate about history and politics, being particularly inspired by the Victorian Gothic era of the nineteenth century. He was also very proud of his Scottish heritage, as referenced by the use of his family tartan in some of his most famous designs.

There was so much to see. It was an incredible exhibition and I plan to go back again before it is over. Here is a look at some of my favourite pieces from the exhibition...

Images from The Met Museum