Dijkstra & Picasso at the Guggenheim

 It is always a thrill to see the familiar facade of the Guggenheim Museum appear on a walk up 5th Avenue. John and I were here to see a retrospective of the work of Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra.

 The spiral interior exhibition space of the museum was closed for the installation of the Picasso, Black and White show which wasn't going to open for another five days.

John became fascinated with the packing crates waiting to be opened for the installation.

 Tomatoes From Canada salutes the generous lenders!

Installation crews were working up and down the central ramp. Fun to see! 

We had the whole morning so we were able to watch all of Dijkstra's video installations. They were well worth the time we spent with them. We had only known Dijkstra's wonderful photo portraits so it was fun to see the videos that helped to make her early reputation. 

Club kids in various British locations posed and danced for Dijkstra. She has a wonderful knack for capturing her young subjects in both her videos and photographs.

We returned to the Guggenheim on our last day in NYC to see the recently opened Picasso show. Photography is forbidden there but we wanted to share a few surreptitious snaps with you. We love Picasso's sculpture. Look at this wonderful bust of Sylvette, 1954. 

 The show was arranged with Picasso's last works at the top of the ramp and his earliest at the bottom. We always take the elevator up and walk down the ramp.

We loved seeing yet another of Picasso's variations on The Maids of Honor (Las Meninas), 1957, from the Museu Picasso in Barcelona. 

John had dressed in black and white for the occasion so I asked him to pose with this beautiful drawing of a sleeper.

 Black and White is a satisfying tour through Picasso's entire career. By the time we left the shell-shaped gallery was packed with visitors and the line-up was down the street.

Go early, but be sure to go.