Coming this summer 2025

A Hudson River Camino - a cultural and spirit-filled pilgrimage up river.

On the Roof with Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog and Everyone Else

As I was walking to the Met to meet some friends, one of them called and told me to expect something of a wait at the elevators. Evidently many people decided yesterday that the Met's Roof Café was the place to be at dusk.

Met Museum Roof

I decided to leave Jeff Koons' cult of celebrity at the door and to appreciate his sculptures as well-crafted objects. The materials of Balloon Dog (Yellow), 1994-2000, Coloring Book, 1997-2005, and Sacred Heart (Red/Gold), 1994-2007 - high chromium stainless steel with transparent coating - encourages literal reflections and an appreciation for the interplay between the heavy materials and the content that's lighter than air. The big red and yellow-bowed Sacred Heart, by the way, is a dead ringer for a local Italian bakery's wrapped hollow chocolate egg.

Add some drinks, company and a jaw-dropping setting into the mix, and you're good to go for a colorful summer evening. With the balloon dog as a centerpiece, the gathering felt like a big birthday party, and probably for some people there, it was.

Images: from Friday, June 20, 2008. 7-8:30 p.m. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden.

Even more images of the roof at Flickr WOTBA.

The birds of Inwood and Northern Manhattan

The birds of Inwood and Northern Manhattan
Visit Teri's birding blog

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June 11, 2025 in Beacon, NY

June 11, 2025 in Beacon, NY
On a day trip from NYC