The art of the New York City holiday windows

I love New York in December (how about you?) The seemingly endless amount of extraordinary sights and experiences one can "take in" for free gets ramped way up for the entertainment of the millions of visitors who come to shop and sightsee this time of year. Every day one can take in displays, performances and gallery exhibits that people have worked on for months (or years) and spent anywhere from thousands up to millions of dollars creating, for the price of a subway ride uptown. I've always loved looking at the exceptionally creative holiday window displays in stores around the city. In December, the big department stores all go, all out: Saks, Lord and Taylor, Barney's, Bergdorf's, Van Cleef and Arpel: the big stores have the best window display artists create one-of-a-kind seasonal fantasy treats for the eyes.

I was reminded by how amazing the windows are by a video NYT style reporter Bill Cunningham did, highlighting some of the best of the best,  http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/12/23/style/1248069481727/on-the-street-holiday-windows.html?scp=4&sq=store%20windows&st=cse

Inspired by his roundup and highlights of what was out there to see, I set out with my son Max to check some out.
Here's what we found:
At Lord & Taylor, they've always favored fanciful, classic scenes of traditional Christmas. Their windows were complex spectacles with moving figures and sets, showing the same scenes, from different eras-1911, 1950, 1960 and the present. This year's windows were inspired by letters from customers who submitted their "happiest holiday memories" last Spring.

Lord & Taylor, one of the vignettes: a fire-engine red modern kitchen scene of holiday gingerbread house making. The spin-up seat stools are ones I wrote about in a story I did on architect

Richard Meier's kitchen in Food & Wine magazine years ago. 

Lord and Taylor: A off-to-go sledding and ice skating Brownstone doorstep scene from the 1960's.

At Lord and Taylor:  This 1911-era scene of a photographer taking a photo of some children decked out in their holiday finest. The customer's memory that inspired this window scene was of her mother's amazing sewing skills, and the wonderful clothes she made for her and her siblings for the holidays.

Lord and Taylor's a miniature 1960's Christmas day at home scene. 

At Lord & Taylor: a 1960's era scene of hanging holiday garlands, rotates to reveal

 the same scene circa 1918. 

Lord & Taylor: A 1950's era scene depicts a customer's memory of trying to catch Santa Claus by tying a bell to the dish of cookies left for him as a snack.

At Lord & Taylor: The smaller display windows on the uptown side of Fifth Avenue, had more traditional holiday cooking scenes.

At Saks: A one-of-a-kind Calvin Klein (designed by Francisco Costa) dress made for Lady Gaga to wear to a Rainforest Benefit event is displayed in an underwater travel themed window. 

Saks: Detail of the white lace booties Lady Gaga wore with her ethereal white cobweb-looking dress.

At Saks: A tow-headed child hangs onto an octopus tent-topper.

Saks Fifth Avenue: Detail of shoes on a mannequin (left of octopus tent). 

At Saks: A submerged child playfully hangs onto a tentacle of a big blue octopus, while a silver-clad and bubble festooned lady reaches for the water surface. 

At Saks Fifth Avenue: An underwater ship scene features an old-timey steering wheel and a mannequin wearing a star-fish embellished dress. 

At Saks: Every mannequins shapely gams were outfitted in a pair 

of outrageously beautiful sky-high heels.

At Saks: Sea saw of tow-headed child and flapper-like lady.

At Saks Fifth Avenue: Is it a bird? No, it's a Jason Wu feather dress perched amidst Fall trees.

Saks Fifth Avenue: Champagne and chandeliers, shiny and slinky dresses and of course crazy-stylish heels are de rigueur for New Year's eve Manhattan-style.

Saks Fifth Avenue: Same party, same glam.  

At Saks Fifth Avenue:  A child's fantasy circus adventures in every window, 

with mannequins decked out in drop-dead gorgeous garb. 

Saks Fifth Ave: Elephant's internal workings includes an aquarium natch. 

At Saks Fifth Avenue: A blond girl catches a ride on a big balloon filled with water bubbles.

Saks Fifth Avenue: Ship scene with a child catching a ride on the back of a flying fish. 

Max's favorite window at Bergdorf on Fifth Avenue was the under the sea themed one, with sequin and stone encrusted octopus, crocodiles and dragonflies. 

Bergdorf: Detail of the octopus.

Bergdorf: Detail of the simple twisted wire and faux gems dragonfly.

Bergdorf Goodman: A global explorer themed window features a mannequin wearing vintage Marchesa cape and dress with sculpted brass soled boots. The floor is creatively papered with vintage maps.

Bergdorf: Booties with metal sculpted heels and soles.

Bergdorf Goodman (below): The old-world travel theme continues in the next window, with Prada, Peter Som and Dries Van Noten clothes taking center stage. Maps, antique cameras and postacards as well as navigation tools lend glamorous travel atmosphere. 

The mannequin's  peacock feather embellished open toe sandals (below)

Pretty as a peacock holiday heels.

Prada's simple, elegant window on Madison Avenue features a Mrs. (Dr. )Tonya Zhivago look.

Snowy dusted, partly knitted bench overgrown with winter flowers.

The window at Anthropology in Rockerfellar Center fit their brand: quirky, artful and offbeat.

Big pine cone in the Anthropology window.

Happy Holidays!

---Monica Forrestall

Curphey Forrestall set painting work he's done on the Wizard of Oz backdrops charms Neptune patrons---including his daughters Jasmine and Liz

My talented brother Curphey's life shifts back and forth between a day job working with a team of backdrop artists creating sets for Halifax's Neptune Theatre performances and performing in a band with three other members, one of whom is our cousin lead guitarist Matthew Grimson. They will be performing at the bar "Reflections" this week, so stop by if you're in town. Curphey describes their sound as "70's punk."

The latest Neptune production that Curphey helped create the sets for is The Wizard of Oz, and the show is getting rave reviews from patrons. Curphey took his daughters Liz and Jasmine to see it Christmas eve, and they "LOVED IT." Curphey particularly praised how well the lighting worked with the set design and how wonderful the acting was.

http://www.neptunetheatre.com/playbill/?show=40

The drawings of Bill Adams at KS Art booth is named one of the 11 most original artworks at the art fairs by Black Book magazine

Art writer Nick Haramis of Black Book magazine named Bill Adams drawings as one of the 11 most original artworks at NADA, Miami's most original art fair.

http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/the-11-most-original-artworks-at-nada-basels-most-original-art-fair/23733/P9

Congrats Bill and his gallery KS Art!

--Monica Forrestall

Miami Art Fair--NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) at Deauville

Toured the NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) art fair in Miami Dec 3-5th.

Here are some of the different booths Max and I saw.

above: Crawling red-suited figure at Workplace Gallery booth # 315.

        

Max in a Nada co-winning Best Booth.

above: Max in Wen Fang's painted knife display at La B.A.N.K booth.

above: Wacky science experiment pieces, at Museum 52 booth seem to have big boy-appeal. 

above: One of the two winning Best Booth winners, Kate Werble Gallery, NYC of the Nada art fair.

Max sees through sculptures.

Visiting dad in KS Art booth featuring Bill Adams work. 

left: Director of NADA Heather Hubbs (old friend of Max's), Max and Lisa Cooley, gallery owner Lisa Cooley, NYC (another old friend of Max's)

---Monica Forrestall

8-year old seamstresses? SEW MUCH FUN is a story I wrote for the newspaper The Tribeca Trib about a neighborhood mom who teaches kids how to sew!

Tribeca neighborhood artisan Roanne Kaplan is an artful lady who believes in the magical ability of art and craft making. She also loves teaching lessons that go far beyond coming away with a cool new messenger bag. Patience, new math skills, cooperation, friendship and most importantly persistence are fringe benefit lessons the girls pick up, while learning how to thread a bobbin or replace a broken needle.

Click on the link below to go to the story:

http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/814_sew-much-fun.html

The talented editor /photographer Carl Glassman took all the photos that appear in the printed and online story, but here are a few of my scouting shots below:

                    below: Roanne helps to re-thread a bobbin with lighter weight thread.

above: Proudly showing off  a just made messenger bag. 

above: Sewing a seam (left) and matching fabrics (right).

above: pulling the thread free, in order to cut it off. 

above: Part of the ribbon collection that the girls are welcome to use for projects.

below: Student carefully cutting out here pieces of fabric for her runner.

I was so inspired that I signed up for an adult ladies class, and made a cute wristlet. I still can't believe I forgot my glasses though, and had to ask Roanne's for help re-threading the needle many times. These girls all had that mastered!

--Monica Forrestall