Museum: The Hispanic Society

A less visited museum in northern Manhattan, The Hispanic Society is a hidden delight.  Dedicated to the culture of Spain, including a large part of Portugal and Latin America, they showcase paintings, sculptures, textiles, ceramics, jewelry, furniture, texts, and door knockers -resist the irresistible impulse to sound them!

The most compelling part of the museum though, the jewels, are the Sorolla murals.  An entire room is dedicated to large canvases, 12-14 feet in height, by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida and ring the room like a mobius.  Depicting local life in various regions of Spain with each area's unique flavor and traditions, the murals are part of a series Sorolla was commissioned to paint towards the end of his career.  I first saw the paintings in Southern Spain where they were on loan and was captivated by the luminous scenes.  Impressionism and its focus on light came to mind, but unaffiliated with any school of style, Sorolla's use of light is unique -representational and palpable.  I could almost feel the hot pulsing sun of the sultry afternoons depicted.  Sorolla reportedly loved being outside and all but one of the paintings in the series were completed outdoors.  Paintings by other notable artists include El Greco, Diego Velázquez, and Francisco de Goya.

The museum is located in Audobon Terrace, a historic landmark of American Renaissance buildings dating from the early 20th Century.   The ornate courtyard dominated by an El Cid statue also houses the Hispanic Society's Library, the Numismatic Society, the American Geographical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza.  At the time of visiting all buildings other than the museum and church were closed to the public.  


Roughly a ten minute walk south of the Hispanic Society is Riverside Church, a historic building completed in 1930 and famous as a site of liberal activism.  Martin Luther King announced his opposition to the Vietnam War here, and other notable speakers include Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.


More information:

The museum is free to visit. 
Visiting hours:  http://www.hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/visitor.htm  

Alternative Movie Theaters

For independent movies, foreign ones, or just to see something other than the ubiquitous Hollywood releases, I like to visit The Film Forum, The Angelika and The IFC Center.  In tune with the smaller scale of the movies, the theaters are cozy and intimate.  All three are in lower Manhattan roughly south of Greenwich Village and North of Tribeca.  From Union Square it's a lovely walk down Broadway passing through areas with cobblestone streets, brownstones and cute boutiques, as well as international and national chains like Zara (Spain), Superdry (Japan), and Gap (USA).

                                               

The Film Forum   

Originally started in 1970, the cinema moved a few times due to circumstances and challenges before opening on West Houston Street in 1989.  The only autonomous non-profit cinema in New York City, they bill themselves as a 'cinema of ideas'.  In other words, come here for interesting movies, absorbing documentaries, beautiful art movies, and cool old films.

At the time of visiting, showings were for the newly released German documentary More then Honey, which explores the decline of bees worldwide; the Danish thriller A Hijacking, about a commercial vessel overtaken by Somali pirates and the fate of the captain and crew in captivity; and a retrospective of the films of Yasujiro Ozu, an acclaimed Japanese director (1903 - 1963).

More information:

Tickets are cash only and are available for purchase at the Box Office on the premises.

The small cafe offers soda, popcorn, specialty coffees, and a small assortment of desserts including brownies and bundt cakes.  Enjoy them in the foyer which has a few seats and a bar table.

For something more substantial head north up Varick Street for myriad restaurants and eateries including Ayza wine and chocolate bar, and Just Delicious serving soups and salads.

http://www.filmforum.org/

The Angelika

A small art house chain with two theaters in NYC and five nationwide, the Angelika shows foreign and independent movies.  Their flagship theater in Soho on West Houston Street opened in 1989 and has six screens below ground where a small kiosk serves pop-corn, soda and snacks.  A bright,

airy cafe dominates the first floor and with ample seating and a relaxed atmosphere is a lovely place to meet, eat or just chill.


At the time of visiting the following movies were playing:

Before Midnight, the third installment of the series Before Sunrise and Before Sunset; Stories We Tell, a genre-twisting personal documentary by Sarah Polley investigating family secrets; Twenty Feet From Stardom, a look at the unknown, unsung role of back-up singers behind some of the great musical legends of the 21st Century; and The Attack, based on Yasmina Khadra's novel, follows the life of an Arab surgeon in Tel-Aviv who sets out to prove the innocence of his wife accused of a suicide bombing that left her and 19 others dead.


More Information:
Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office, cash or credit.

The Angelika's cafe is open to the public, a movie ticket is not necessary for entry.  Menu offerings include muffins, scones, sandwiches, wraps, desserts and some vegan and vegetarian selections.  Drinks include iced and hot specialty coffees, teas, chai, hot chocolate, smoothies and milkshakes.

http://angelikafilmcenter.com/



Village East Cinema

The Angelika's sister theater is housed in an historical building dating from 1926 when it opened as The Yiddish Art Theater.  The staged plays attracted notables such as Charlie Chaplin, George Gershwin and Albert Einstein.  After many transformations over the years the building, designed in the Moorish revival style, was restored and revived as Village East Cinema in 1992.  Featuring ornate decorations and 7 screens including a main auditorium with balcony seating and an oversized screen, the cinema is a pleasure to visit no matter which screening room you end up in.

Showings are for independent movies and select blockbusters.  At the time of visiting playtimes included Monsters University, an animation movie by Pixar; What Maisie Knew, a contemporary interpretation of Henry James' novella; Kon-Tiki, depicting Thor Heyerdahl's historical journey from Peru, South America, to Raroia, Polynesia, to prove the islands were settled by South Americans; and the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which casts light on the disappearance of Sixto Rodriguez, a Mexican-American musician whose album bombed in the US but found fame in South Africa's anti-apartheid era.  

More information: 

Tickets are available for purchase online or at the cinema's box office, cash or credit.  A lounge area with cheerful couches is below ground, and a snack bar on the first floor serves soda, pop-corn, candy and specialty coffees.  For a meal or drink there are a plethora of restaurants, bars and cafes in the area including Angelica Kitchen which serves "organic plant-based cuisine," Bar Veloce just a few feet away, and Spot Dessert Bar in St. Marks Place.

http://www.villageeastcinema.com/




The IFC Center

Owned by AMC Networks and related to the TV channel of the same name, the IFC opened in 2005 replacing The Waverly Theater, an art house famous for midnight runs of The Rocky Horror Show. The IFC, according to their site, is dedicated to showing "the best in independent film."  They feature foreign and independent movies and documentaries, classic movies on weekend mornings, and cult

movies Friday and Saturday at midnight.


At the time of visiting, movie show times included the documentary Dirty Wars, an expose of America's underhanded tactics in the War on Terror; Crystal Fairy, a Chilean comedy/love story where a brash American boy hunting for a hallucinogenic mushroom in Chile meets a free-spirited local girl and invites her along for the ride; Museum Hours, Austrian, a lonely Canadian woman and an Austrian museum guard find love among art; High Anxiety by Mel Brooks, a parody of suspense movies and a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, for the weekend classic; and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones' second adventure by Steven Spielberg, for the cult midnight spot.


More Information:
Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office, cash or credit.

The kiosk on the first floor serves organic popcorn with natural butter, soda, tea, coffee, hot-chocolate, popsicles, and other snacks.  For something else just wander the surrounds and trip over cafes, restaurants and bars.


http://www.ifccenter.com/