365:51 (guggenheim)

by sam on 10/21/2009

guggenheim

After trying to figure out where to go on this really beautiful day, I discovered that, in honor of it’s 50th anniversary, the Guggenheim was actually free today. I knew there’d be a line and whatnot, but free is free. So I went over.

The line actually moved pretty fast – even though it was wrapped around the block, it only took about 20 minutes to get to the front door. No pictures allowed anywhere inside except from the ground floor (in what I’m sure is an attempt to force people who want to remember the Kandinsky exhibition to buy the official merchandise), but it was still pretty cool. Except for all of the people, of course.

First, after I had progressed through 3/4 of the line and was in sight of the front door, there were these two women who very blatantly tried to cut the line in front of the person in front of me. I, of course, tapped them on the shoulder and pointed out the line that wrapped around the block. They got very bent out of shape, and in very thick french accents, attempted to claim that they were “press”. I was all, “so what?” – pointing out that if there was actual special press access, they should go talk to the guard, not cut in line. Needless to say, they got out of line. One of the folks in front of me was also a french tourist, and he was a bit mortified at his countrymen, but he said that shit happens all the time in France, because everyone else is too polite/timid to actually call someone out. He said he really noticed it when he went to japan and was completely horrified by the french tour groups that came through. I sympathized, as I often wanted to run and hide from American tour groups exhibiting the same sort of “ugly tourist” behavior whilst I was living in Italy.

Then, of course, there were the folks who would plant themselves directly in front of you while you were reading a description or timeline so that you only got a view of the back of their head.

And then there was the bus ride home, where people simply forgot how to behave in public. blocking doors, not moving back, deciding to try to (finally) move back to grab a seat only when about 18 people from the back of the bus were actually trying to move forward to get off the bus. I actually (again, being my loud new yorker self) had to tell two women to stand still so that everyone could get off the bus, regardless of the fact that they felt entitled to a seat (behind the people trying to exit) that had opened up.

But anyway, here are some pics. 365 pic is first, and then a collection of others that you can click on to enlarge.