New Museum – Ostalgia, a meal in itself

In his NYTimes review, Holland Cotter described Ostalgia at the New Museum as “a meal for adults,” so it would seem like a good bet for an inspirational lunch. You’ll probably need a good long chunk of time, though. There’s a lot to digest.

Ostalgia is an exploration of art as vital outlet, as coping mechanism, as messenger. Spanning all five floors of the museum, it is a huge collection of work produced by artists from countries across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics. In all cases, their work speaks to their particular place and time. Photographer Nikolay Bakharev took portraits of bathers in various stages of undress on Russian beaches in defiance of an official ban on exposing bare flesh. Alexander Lobanov was deaf and mute and spent most of his life drawing intricate self-portraits from a Russian psychiatric hospital. He often presented himself with Stalin and Lenin and a magazine of firearms.

In the face of strict censorship, Andrei Monastyrski and his collaborators in Collective Actions made poetic banners that carefully toed the line of what was permitted to say. In a concurrent installation on Governors Island, Monastyrski’s banner waves across the water at the Statue of Liberty. It reads, “I Do Not Complain About Anything and I Almost Like It Here, Although I Have Never Been Here Before and Know Nothing About This Place.”

Ostalgia was extended through Oct 2nd, so take advantage! While you’re there, check out [Swi:t] Home: A CHANT in the lobby gallery. This cascading wave of fabric with hand-sewn paper scraps is artist Elena del Rivero’s collection of mementos. They came through the blown-out windows of her downtown studio on that fateful September day ten years ago, and they are beautifully preserved and remembered here.

Mull all of this over at Congee Village where the House Special Chicken is out of this world. A great tip from Lunch Studio: order the lunch size order of veggies over rice to round of the meal.

Ingredients:

Venue: New Museum

Artists: Nikolav Bakharev, Alexander Lobanov, Andrei Monastyrski, Elena del Rivero, Various Artists

Streets: Bowery, Prince – Spring Sts

Eats: Congee Village

Map: