New York, New York

The good news first: New York is still the same! And there’s no bad news either.

I was so curious and also a little worried about how life in New York might have changed since I was last here in January. A lot has changed politically since then and there have been a few warnings in Europe advising against traveling to the USA at the moment. But New York has always been a bit different from the rest of the country. Just one trip through the tunnel is enough to make you realize this in New Jersey. And so I found everything here just as I left it a few months ago. Only much hotter! The heat and high humidity made my first run on Monday a little difficult and it took me a while to acclimatize. But the flowers in Riverside Park are blooming as usual and I saw more dogs on this run than in the rest of the months this year in Basel. This has always been the case, as has the poverty, which is more visible here, and the garbage. The smell of cannabis in the air mixed with the smell of fried food – even in the early morning. The Latinos sitting on their camping chairs on the sidewalks, discussing loudly and listening to their Spanish music. The neighbors from our house and the acquaintances from the neighborhood that you see on the street. Some stores are closed (Mama’s Pizza! and the bookstore on Broadway), but new ones have opened. A constant coming and going.

Art for the mind

The exhibitions in the museums come and go as well, so I went straight to the MoMA on the second day. I was interested in two exhibitions there. Watercolors by Hilma af Klint are shown under the title What Stands Behind the Flowers. Hilma af Klint painted these in 1919 and 1920 and provided them with precisely drawn diagrams in which she demonstrated her belief that careful observation of the surroundings reveals ineffable aspects of the human condition. The flowers themselves were so lifelike, down to the smallest detail, simply beautiful. I feel a certain desire to paint in such a lifelike way again and, above all, to train the eye and perception that are necessary for this. I think it makes you realize the beauty of the everyday things, makes you satisfied and happy.

Art for the heart

The other exhibition, Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction, shows the connections between textiles and fine art. I have always been fascinated by textiles, I like the feel of them and the possibilities they offer for graphic expression. In addition, textiles and textile art can be used in everyday life, and I like beautiful things that you can use every day. When I was 15, I knitted myself a Norwegian sweater, which I still have today and wear from time to time. I would also like to start weaving if I had more time. The exhibition addressed these aspects and shows the beauty of textile works. I am always particularly taken with more graphic works such as the carpets by Anni Albers or the embroideries by Sophie Taeuber-Arp, which of course were not missing in this exhibition.

Getting to work

Filled with inspiration, I then retreated to my studio and started experimenting with weaving pictures and making studies to get ideas for new pictures. That’s the beauty of art, it always inspires new beauty. But it’s the same with hate. If you allow yourself to succumb to it, you sink deeper and deeper into it. Something you can see very clearly here in the USA. It seems to be a universal law that good comes from good and bad from bad. We are all free to decide which path we want to take.

Little things that make you happy

Sometimes an evening walk is enough to absorb a lot of beauty. That’s what happened this week when I felt too full to go to bed after dinner. I went for a little walk in Central Park, which I have never visited in the evening. On the way there, there was this man walking down the street with a whole bunch of white balloons, which made me happy. In the park, people were eating their dinner on blankets or reading books on benches, everything was so peaceful and relaxed. And when I walked through a piece of woodland, suddenly there were countless fireflies flying out of the undergrowth. I haven’t seen fireflies for a long time and I’ve never seen so many in one place. That I would experience this in New York of all places was the last thing I would have expected. The world is full of wonders and every ordinary day has a few in store.

All good

So the first week in New York was filled with relief because everything was still the way I know and love it. With the joy of returning to familiar places and loved ones. With sport, with art, with work and with a happy surprise in the undergrowth of Central Park.

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