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Secret Travel: Undetected Art in NYC

April 24, 2008 at 4:45 PM | 0 Comments

It's a well-known fact that the minute you mention a "secret" anything in the travel media, people lap it up. So we couldn't help but be taken by Seth Kugel's latest piece in The New York Times that reveals some of the little-seen and, yep, "hidden" treasures in NYC's museums.

At MoMA, the playful "Water Tower" high above the museum's sculpture garden is the thing to watch for. An official explains its appeal:

The water towers of New York are proverbial, they're vernacular, they're on every building, it seems. Casting it in this translucent resin, it's as if the wooden parts of the water tower have fallen away and what you have is an almost icelike object. For me it truly became a magical piece when I saw the sun coming through it; it really glows.

We don't know if that one piece is worth the $20 admission charge, so if you're feeling cheap, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (with its "suggested admission") is the place to go for secret art.

The South Asian galleries there are rarely visited, Kugel says, because they're so hard to find. Following his excellent directions, though, you'll suss 'em out and enjoy an uncrowded journey through the entire artistic history of the region. No wonder we all love secrets.

Related Stories:
· Curators Point the Way to Hidden Treasures [NYT]
· Museums coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: tilaneseven]