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Putting the ‘Monotonous’ in My Monotonous Life

The T platform, snow free but covered in sand. At least it’s sunny!

ICA

Chip, chip, chipping away at my Fall To Do list!

It’s very possible that it’s been almost a year since I was at the ICA – when Rob and Carita were visiting last December. That’s far too long, especially when you take into account that I get free admission thanks to a corporate sponsorship from work. I’m dumb and missed the Charles LeDray: workworkworkworkwork exhibit that I was interested in, but I was pleasantly surprised by the Mark Bradford one that’s currently there. Particularly his piece titled Scorched Earth, which you can see if you check out the slide show on that last link.

I should probably back up a bit…before I made it to the ICA, I stopped by KO Catering & Pies to feed my latest obsession. That is, anything and everything they make! They’re a quick T ride from our apartment, and a one mile walk from the ICA – how convenient! I noshed on my classic with cheese, then bundled up and walked through the not-so-scenic corner of Southie/Fort Point. Once I got to very up-and-coming corner of Fort Point (you’ll know it by the recently finished and now for sale luxury condos and the Barbara Lynch restaurants) I happily stumbled across and into the Fort Point Artists Community shop. I’m pretty sure I saw about a million things I wanted to buy, but Christmas season = no buying for me, only buying gifts and I left empty handed.

Just seeing the ICA across the barren parking lots on the waterfront makes me happy – it’s a beautiful building inside and out. I love the boardwalk that wraps around it, and the views of the harbor that it offers. I love knowing that once I get inside there will be equally beautiful (and much warmer, these days!) views to enjoy alongside whatever awesomeness they have hanging in the galleries. It doesn’t hurt that getting into and out of the elevator includes signs marking each floor in my favorite color. ;)

I didn’t take any photos of the Bradford exhibit. I was carrying my camera in my hand and at one point one of the docents/guards/whatever was following me around the gallery to the point where I was pretty sure that she was just waiting for me to try and take a photo so she could tell me I wasn’t allowed to. In the end, she cornered me to spout her thoughts and feelings about one of the pieces, which I could have done without. She was a bit awkward and I didn’t find her insights that informative or useful. I never did decide whether she just needed to talk to someone about the exhibit or if she really was waiting to pounce if I lifted my camera.

I’m pretty sure I could have sat for hours on a bench in the Founders Gallery, soaking up the gorgeous view of the harbor. I did stay there for a while, but not hours, before moving on to the permanent collection. And the permanent collection was inspiring, as usual. I love the mix of media they always have – sculpture, paintings, photographs, sound, video. If only the other museum patrons realized that proper museum etiquette (at least to me) means that you actually go into the rooms in which the video pieces are playing, not just standing in and blocking the doorway for anyone else that might be interested!

Regardless of awkward docents and annoying patrons, I really can’t complain about any trip to the ICA. Am I gushing like teenager in love? I feel a little bit like one. If I’m going to be a football widow, I might as well have a good crush (or two or three) to spend my time with while Pete is at home footballing it up! ;)

1 Comment

by Sarah G on November 28, 2010 • Permalink

Posted in A List: Fall 2010, boston

Posted by Sarah G on November 28, 2010

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2010/11/28/ica/

Girls Day

This morning I met Leyre and Amy for brunch (we missed you, Lana!) at Sel de la Terre, where we enjoyed mimosas and rather tasty food for essentially free – happy birthday to me, from the bossman! I highly recommend the SDLT Burger. I know, I go to a nice French restaurant and order a burger. What’s wrong with me?! I’ve had dinner there before, so I’ve sampled the tasty French fair – and the burger was delicious! Warning – if you go there for brunch and order a side of bacon, they will bring you approximately one pound of tasty bacon. Be prepared!

After brunch, we meandered along the Fens to the MFA. We passed on checking out the new wing (it looked crazy crowded) and headed for some exhibits that were rather appropriate for a girls day – Avedon Fashion 1944-2000 and Scassi: American Couturier.

I’ve always associated Avedon more with his amazing portraits, but his fashion work is equally awe inspiring! There were a few that I particularly loved, and I am going to have to head back before January to admire them again.

We also came across another photo exhibit – Nicholas Nixon: Family Album. This was a much smaller, but equally inspiring collection. Nothing beats watching a lady touching the glass of the framed photos and dragging her fingers along it! Don’t people know you don’t touch things in museums?! Aside from the smudges she left behind, it was a pretty incredible series of thirty-six total photos – four sisters, always standing in the same order, photographed annually since 1975.

The Scassi exhibit was one that I happened to catch sight of on the MFA site and thought we should check out – and it was pretty cool! I’d never heard the name before, but Scassi has been making made to order clothing in New York since the 50’s, dressing the likes of Barbara Streisand, Ivana Trump, and Barbara and Laura Bush, to name a few. It was a small exhibit – about a dozen dresses total, but there were a few among them that I wouldn’t mind owning!

ETA: I had forgotten when I first posted this that it was on my Fall To Do List – cross another one off, woohoo! I am actually one post behind on the list, I did make it to East Boston back in October, and I’ll work on getting that posted in the next few days. Technically that should maybe only count for half of a thing, but you’ll have to wait for me to get that post up to hear that story!

Now that I’ve looked at the list again, I guess you could call me two posts behind on that list. I have in fact been crochet, crochet, crocheting! I’ll have to see if there’s a way for me to take some pictures to prove it without giving away Christmas gifts before they are unwrapped. :)

2 Comments

by Sarah G on November 15, 2010 • Permalink

Posted in A List: Fall 2010, boston, friends

Posted by Sarah G on November 15, 2010

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2010/11/15/girls-day/

Ken oath

Back in the day, when all my Aussie ex-pat friends still lived here in Boston, we would occasionally attend events on ANZAC or Australia Day and enjoy delicious sausage rolls and meat pies. And they went fast, because it’s hard to find Aussie goodies like that around here. Until now. Because now the same guy that used to make those sausage rolls and meat pies has opened up shop and is serving them up, hot and delicious as ever, six days a week! Nomnomnom!

KO Catering & Pies is everything I hoped it would be! They have a huge, awesome community table that you can sit at and eat if you don’t order take out, and when I was there I got to chat with one Kiwi and an Aussie couple who were very happy to dig into their meat pies. The owner of the shop also popped out and sat and chatted with us for a bit and it was great to hear him talk about how well they have been doing – selling 250-300 pies a day when he thought they would be selling 50 a day at most. They even sell Milo and Tim Tams!

I had the classic with cheese (because they had already sold out of the classic for the day) and the potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce. Then I spent the next 36 hours day dreaming about how soon I could go back and do it again! I’m anxiously waiting for them to get the food truck up and running, and hoping that they’ll be parking it near the financial district so I can have meat pies for lunch every once in a while during the week. Or every day.

On Broadway

We headed over to SoWa Open Market after lunch (pizza at Quincy’s one and only Alumni Cafe), which means we got off the T at the Broadway stop. Which is one of my favorites, because every time I’m there I notice another one of these tiles that I hadn’t noticed before, and because it has this amazing symmetry that makes for good pictures.

My Monotonous Life