Curious G has been listening to David Bowie's “Rebel Rebel” on repeat for the past week in preparation for the David Bowie is exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. I purchased tickets about two weeks in advance because they sell out so quickly. After experiencing the exhibit (yes, it’s a full on experience complete with an audio guide) I will be listening to "Starman", "Fame", "Space Oddity", "The Man Who Sold the World", and some of his 80’s hits ("Young Americans" and "Modern Love" and more) on repeat for the next few weeks.
Photography was not allowed, but I was mesmerized by Bowie’s artistic talent and bold approach towards life that this exhibit illustrates so well. The audio guide is played through personal headphones handed out at the entrance of the exhibit. The handwritten notes that Bowie jotted down to outline his ideas and lyrics, the performance and interview videos, his paintings, the verbasizer, the FASHION, the collaborators who helped create his body of work; are all fascinating elements of this exhibit. Fueled by his desire to be who he wanted to be, free of restraints from societal norms, he was a pioneer who spearheaded so many trends via his different personas including Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, and the Thin White Duke. At the same time, behind the facade of the myriad of characters that he created as an artist, his music was just so good and carried him through five decades.
We stayed in the museum and grabbed lunch at Saul Bolton's The Norm. While the setting was charming, the food was meh. The burger was kind of a big soggy lump, and the fries were oversalted. The grilled chicken in the Caesar salad was dry and bland. Curious G's mac and cheese was plentiful but not very flavorful. I am hoping we just caught them on an off day because I had high expectations being that Saul Bolton's namesake restaurant that was in Boerum Hill was excellent.
We took a whirl through the four other floors in the rest of the museum (one floor was closed for CFDA awards rehearsals), and plan to return for a more comprehensive look around.
In the meantime, below are a few highlights.
The Brooklyn Museum is right next to The Brooklyn Botanical Garden, a cute playground in Mount Prospect Park, and the Brooklyn Public Library. The 2/3 trains are also right outside of the museum. A 30 minute walk will take you to the Brooklyn Children's Museum. We have done the walk, which is mostly along Eastern Parkway or Prospect Place, with Curious G snoozing in her stroller.
Just a five minute walk away, on Underhill Ave, is Blue Marble Ice Cream. Curious G and I are huge fans of the Blue Marble flavor, which we have had at Smorgasburg and on Governor’s Island so we headed over after we finished our quick tour of the museum. The Blue Marble flavor is blue and peanut butter flavored with marshmallow. We were pleased to find other yummy flavors (we picked butter pecan, bread and roses which is shortbread in rose ice cream, green tea, and birthday cake), a garden in the back, along with a children’s play space complete with toys, books, and a chalkboard. The ice cream was a sweet note to end on, and Curious G made some little buddies in the play area.
