TRAVEL 1/2020 Spotlight 33Fotos: Drew Angerer/Getty Images; Claudia Hellmann
angle [(ÄNg&l]
, Blickwinkel
approach [E(proUtS]
, Herangehensweise
awkward [(O:kw&rd]
, ungünstig
booth [bu:T]
, Zelle, Kabine
clay [kleI]
, Lehm
commission [kE(mIS&n]
, in Auftrag geben
copper [(kA:p&r]
, Kupfer-
deception [di(sepS&n]
, Betrug, Täuschung
elevated train track
[(elIveItEd )treIn trÄk]
, Hochbahntrasseexaggeration
[Ig)zÄdZE(reIS&n]
, Übertreibung
floor-to-ceiling
[)flO:r tE (si:lIN]
, raumhoch
gated community
[)geItEd kE(mju:nEti]
, bewachte Wohn-
anlage
greenway [(gri:nweI]
, Grünstreifen
infinity [In(fInEti]
, Unendlichkeit
pedestal [(pedIst&l]
, Podest
reshuffle [ri:(SVf&l]
, umstrukturieren
run [rVn]
, hier: verlaufen, sich
erstrecken
scale [skeI&l]
, Größenverhältnis
secure [sI(kjU&r]
, beschaffen
squint [skwInt]
, spähen, schielen
tilt [tIlt]
, hier: (um)kippen
torch [tO:rtS]
, Fackelfantasy” and “architecture as luxury
branding,” as well as a “gated communi-
ty for the 0.1 percent.” Maybe the people
who live in this new neighborhood will
breathe some life into an area that still
feels almost too shiny to be real.New High Line extension
A visit to Hudson Yards can easily be
combined with a walk on the High Line,
that most unusual of public parks in New
York City. If you’ve been to the city in re-
cent years, chances are that you’ve walked
along the greenway that was created on
an old elevated train track. Over the last
ten years, the High Line has been moving
north, expanding the walkway and public
space high above the city. The last section
of the High Line, called the Spur, opened
just last summer, and it runs east to join
the High Line to the Hudson Yards neigh-
borhood. The Spur even runs underneath
one of the buildings, 10 Hudson Yards.
Visible from far away is the first mon-
umental sculpture commissioned for
the Plinth, the park’s new space for con-
temporary art. The work is a nearly five-
meter-tall bronze by Simone Leigh called
Brick House, which combines the form of
a black woman with the shape of a clay
house from West Africa.New MoMA and more
It’s back: The Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) reopened in October, having
added once again to its gallery space
thanks to an expansion of its new west
wing. The addition of almost 4,400 square
meters, which required the museum to
close for four months, is the last part of
a much longer project to create far more
room for the art collections.
But it’s not only about more space:
MoMA has decided on an innovative
approach for telling the story of modern
and contemporary art. Its curators have
reshuffled the collection, mixing works
of painting, sculpture, film, photography,
and design in unexpected ways, as well
as giving more attention to overlookedartists, works by women, and Latino,
Asian, and African-American artists. Mon-
et’s Water Lilies, Van Gogh’s Starry Night,
and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon are
still there, of course, but it’s no exaggera-
tion to say that this unusual approach to
showing the works has led to a complete-
ly different MoMA.
The most exciting recent new museum
opening has been the Statue of Liberty
Museum, which adds a fresh dimension
to a rendezvous with Lady Liberty. Ac-
cording to the National Park Service,
which runs the sights on Liberty Island,
the building was designed as a “garden pa-
vilion” to fit in perfectly with its environ-
ment. Its rooftop, as you might expect, is a
great place from which to view the statue
and New York Harbor.
Inside the museum, copper models of
the statue’s face and foot allow you to see
the monument up close. Touching her
enormous foot, for example, gives you
a true sense of her grand scale. There are
also videos that explain the history of the
statue’s creation, as well as a fascinating
recreation of designer Frédéric Auguste
Bartholdi’s Paris workshop. The statue’s
original torch, replaced around 30 years
ago, has found a new home here, too,
beautifully displayed next to floor-to-
ceiling windows.
Before the opening of the new mu-
seum this May, unless you had secured
a ticket to the pedestal or the crown
months in advance, the visit to Liberty
Island could feel a bit disappointing, as
you squinted up at the statue from an
awkward angle while listening to an audio
guide. The experience is now much better
thanks to this fine, light-filled museum.
Worth a visit among the many newer
small private museums is the Museum
of Illusions in Chelsea, with a variety of
optical illusions, from a mirrored infini-
ty room to a series of holograms, stereo-
grams, and kaleidoscopes. Kids love the
Tilted Room and other cool photo oppor-
tunities, while learning about how optical
illusions trick the mind and eye.
Another is Spyscape, a high-tech es-
pionage museum in the Times Square
neighborhood that opened in 2018. It’s a
pricey experience of the art of deception,
intelligence-gathering, and cyberwarfare.
You can test your own spy skills in the lie-
detector interrogation booth and in the
laser tunnel.