.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Saturday!

I love to visit museums and while living in Manhattan I saw the most amazing art exhibits at the MET, MOMA (my favorite museum in New York City by far), the New Museum, The Whitney and the Guggenheim to just name a few. Strolling around museums makes me happy and also makes me feel like diving into something special and beautiful. To absorb the art and discover new artists, see new paintings and learn about art is definitely one of my favorite things to do. Is there anything better than reading the New York Times Art Section on a Saturday morning? Maybe reading it in bed while enjoying breakfast at said location. Today I read this amazing article on Pop Art International and browsed through the NYTimes Archives for a while and found an article from 2014 on The Art of Slowing Down in a Museum which suggested, to rather “enjoy a museum than conquering it”. 

“When you go to the library,” said James O. Pawelski, the director of education for the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, “you don’t walk along the shelves looking at the spines of the books and on your way out tweet to your friends, ‘I read 100 books today!’” Yet that’s essentially how many people experience a museum…

Professor Pawelski…asks [his students] to spend at least 20 minutes in front of a single painting that speaks to them in some way. Twenty minutes these days is what three hours used to be, he noted. “But what happens, of course, is you actually begin to be able to see what you’re looking at,” he said…

For instance, if you have an hour he suggests wandering for 30 minutes, and then spending the next half-hour with a single compelling painting…

Professor Pawelski said it’s still a mystery why viewing art in this deliberately contemplative manner can increase well-being or what he calls flourishing…He theorized, however, that there is a connection to research on meditation and its beneficial biological effects. In a museum, though, you’re not just focusing on your breath, he said. “You’re focusing on the work of art.”

What do you think about this? Any thoughts? I never thought about approaching a museum like this. Read the entire article here. While I am still in Coburg I want to visit the Coburger Landesbibliothek and the current exhibit as well as the Glasmuseum in Rödental. Let’s see how it goes. 

Can you go to Ikea and walk out of the store without buying at least one cinnamon roll? Nope! Exactly! They are so good. The other day I looked through a booklet on cooking courses here in the area and found a Finnish Cooking Class. Yay, I thought. The description of the course: We make traditional Kanelbullar as well! My next thought was that I could also ask my friend Carolina who is originally from Finland to show me how she makes my beloved cinnamon rolls. Long story short; today was the day we met and baked so many that we filled the entire house with this lovely smell of cinnamon/chocolate and dough-heaven. This is just a perfect treat once in a while and goes perfect with a cup of latte. Carolina told me that she used to make those since she was a child. So enjoy and happy baking! 

“I am Homosexual and I am afraid about what my further will be and that people won’t like me.”

Have you heard about Humans of New York? Recently, I have had some so called “missing New York flashes”. It comes and it goes and because I am following HONY on Facebook I get reminded daily of the people walking and living in the Big Apple. Humans of New York stole my heart a long time ago. Brandon Stanton is the photographer and takes portraits of people walking the streets of Manhattan and worldwide and capturing them so well that sometimes it makes me tear up. From street musicians, to homeless people to fancy people walking on 5th Avenue checking in at the Plaza Hotel – he photographs them all. Everybody has a different story and the photos are all beautiful. The way he captures the pictures is the special part.

I have been living in the city for a long time now and usually when I walk around it is just easy to get into your little zone and don’t even notice the people around you. He asks the strangers a question which is usually a very simple one. Like “Tell me about a scary moment in your life”. Then the person answers. Every time I find it amazing how Brandon Stanton does it. Here are his pictures that moved me the most so far. Enjoy! 

“I’m different than other people. I’m never sad. I make my life happy through discipline. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I eat lots of fiber. Every day I take a walk in the park to think about my balance. I’ve been a chef, a fashion designer, a painter, and now I’m learning martial arts. I do Tai Chi in the park every morning. It helps give me energy for my painting. I have already learned forty-two moves. I’m ahead of everyone. I’m almost eighty years old, but all the women in my group think I’m in my fifties.”

“I got married a few months ago. I mean, she’s my everything and all. But I’m just trying to get used to having someone else’s opinion around all the time. She doesn’t like my beard so she’s making me shave it. Today. At 6:40 PM.”

“I’m a rare book librarian. I get to touch books every single day. My colleague and I have a joke that we are Defenders of Wonder. A physical book assigns a sense of reverence to the content inside. It’s the same feeling you get when you look at a painting or hear a piece of music. And I think that’s something worth defending. And just like a book gives reverence to it’s content, I think the library gives reverence to books. The building itself is a masterpiece. So many famous thinkers have come here to study and write. Just being here connects you to that lineage.”

“Let me hide the cane. It’s only temporary.”

“My husband died of cancer 18 months ago. But every day I still get to see his smile, his kindness, and his sense of humor.”

“While I was in prison, I had a stab wound that wasn’t healing correctly. The stitches weren’t dissolving like they were supposed to, and they were pinching and poking me like plastic needles. But the prison doctor wouldn’t authorize me to go to the hospital. I had to write a grievance about the doctor, just so I could get approved for treatment. When my treatment was finally approved, they did some blood tests on me. The prison doctor called me in his office and said: ‘Do you remember that grievance you wrote about me?’I said, ‘Yes.’He said, ‘You’re HIV positive.’”

“He had a four centimeter tumor removed from the frontal lobe of his brain. He cries a lot now. He never used to cry, but I’ve probably seen him cry twenty times since the surgery. He always says, ‘You’ll never know what’s happening inside of my head.’ He’s still good with my name, but he’s forgotten a lot of others. He tells the same old stories over and over. He’s best at remembering things that happened a long time ago, so I think he clings to those things.“

“I don’t look like an electrical engineer, but I’m in charge of power continuity in Manhattan. Don’t get me wrong– I have a boss. But I’m the only black woman who is the shift manager of a control room. So when it’s my shift, I’m running shit. And I’m proud of that.”

“I used to have a walking cane with an iron pipe inside. But one day this guy called me a bad name, and he looked like he was reaching in his pocket, so I stroked him with my cane. I thought I’d killed him. So now I just use a regular cane.”

“I’ve been here for three hours. I’m just killing time. My mother died last week, and I’m waiting for the court to call so I can pick up the death certificate. It was supposed to be ready this morning.”

Brandon Stanton came out with several books so far. This is his first one and so awesome. This one came out last year and it is on my Wishlist. Also this one. If you have an Instagram account you can follow Brandon Stanton here.