H o w e v e r , n e ith e r th e sta n d -
a lo n e o b je c ts o f g re a ts lik e A l e x -
a n d e r C a ld e r , Isa m u N o g u c h i,
S h e ila H ic k s , an d L e n o r e T a w -
n e y n o r M A D ’s c o m p re h e n s iv e
c a ta lo g ca n fu lly e x p re s s th e
im p a c t th e e ra ’s m a k e rs h ad on
th e b u ilt e n v iro n m e n t. W it h th e
b lo s s o m in g o f th e stu d io c ra ft
m o v e m e n t, p o s tw a r A m e r ic a
also e x p e r ie n c e d a b u ild in g
b o o m . M a n y o f th e se sp a ce s
p ro d u c e d o p p o rtu n itie s fo r
c o m m is sio n s o f la rg e -s c a le ,
s ite -s p e c ific w o r k .
“ B o th a rc h ite c ts and a rtists
fe e l th a t n e w b u ild in g s n e ed
n e w k in d s o f o rn a m e n ta tio n ,”
c r itic E le a n o r B itte rm a n n
w r o te in h e r
1 9 5 2
b o o k
,A r t
in M o d ern A rch ite ctu r e .
“ O c c a -
s io n a lly a n e w s tru c tu re d e v e l-
o p s a n e w k in d o f a r t,” sh e
o b s e r v e d . S h e c o u ld n o t h a v e
b e e n m o re rig h t.
B e lo w are site s w h e r e su ch
n e w a rt can b e seen in (o r n e a r)
M a n h a tta n . I f y o u v is it M A D ’s
la n d m a rk e x h ib itio n ( O c t .
12
- J a n .
1 5
,
2 0 1 2
) , c h e c k th em o u t.
A n d tu rn th e p a g e fo r a g lim p se
o f th e s h o w .
+
m a d m u se u m .o rg
C a ro lin e H a n n a h is a design
h isto ria n in N e w T o rk.
l l t V l l A n m B m i
v
m ni
{'
Highlights of
Modern Design II
Metropolitan Museum
of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave.
►
Nestled on the first floor
among the museum’s
modern and contempo-
rary art galleries arc sev-
eral stunning postwar
works, including Alex-
ander Caldcr’s
J e a l o u s
H u s b a n d
necklace and
Anni Albers’
P a s t u r e
(pictured), in a tempo-
rary installation.
*' Lee Krasner and
Ronald Stein,
mosaic murals, 1959.
2 Broadway.
►Life after Pollock meant
working big - really big.
The larger of two murals
for the Uris Brothers
building is 86 feet long.
(The smaller one is on
the Broad Street side.)
Krasner and her nephew
used broken Italian
glass, albeit hands-off,
as unionized labor
installed the work.
''
Alexander Calder,
sidewalk, 1970.
1014-1018 Madison Ave.,
between 78th & 79th Sts.
►
The only sidewalk the
sculptor ever designed
was for his dealer, Klaus
Peris (who showed
Calder’s jewelry from
1954), and the galleries on
cither side. The zinc-lined
black and white terrazzo
“Portuguese pavement”
was restored in 2002.
<1
Helena Hernmarck,
seasons tapestries,
mid-2O0OS. Time Warner
Center, Columbus Circle,
k Photo-realistic tapes-
tries by the Swedish-
born weaver (with the
/Mice Lund Textilier
Borliinge) in the lobby
are viewable from W.
58 th Street. Seasonally
rotating, they echo near-
by Central Park.
i »
Isamu Noguchi,
L a t i d s c a p e o f t h e C l o u d ,
1957-8.
6 6 6
Fifth Ave.,
enter on 52nd or 53rd St.
►For the lobby, Noguchi
created sublime cloud-
scapes of thin railings
and a floor-to-ceiling
waterfall in aluminum
and stainless steel, which
tics it to the iconic build-
ing’s metal-clad exterior.
Devotees should also visit
the Noguchi Museum in
Long Island City and
R e d
C u b e
at 140 Broadway.
' >
Hans Hofmann,
U n t i t l e d
mosaic
mural, 1958.
High School of Graphic
Communication Arts,
439 W. 49th St., between
Ninth & 10th Aves.
►
One of the most influen-
tial abstract painting
instructors also created
lively mosaics for mod-
ern buildings. This one
can be seen outside the
former New York
School of Printing in
Hell’s Kitchen, near the
Theater District.
o c t / n o v n
a m e r i c a n c r a f t 0 3 3
