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Have you seen the new Metropolitan Museum of Art rooftop exhibit? Every year, they feature a different installation in their roof garden, and this year, British artist Cornelia Parker built a house.
Alex and I rode bikes up there last weekend. Here’s what it was like…
When approached to create an installation for the rooftop, Parker was “very daunted because the skyline is so amazing,” she says, so she wanted to create something architecturally incongruous.
While researching old structures, Parker came across Edward Hopper’s painting House by the Railroad (1925)…
Next she discovered that Alfred Hitchcock had also been inspired by that very painting when putting together the house for his 1960 thriller Psycho…
So, Parker created a replica of the Psycho house, using the salvage of an abandoned barn in upstate New York. (When it rains, says Parker, it has a faint smell of manure.)
The Victorian house feels at once creepy and beautiful, as the sun streams around the faded porch columns. And, as Parker wanted, the scene definitely feels incongruous — a crumbling rural home above a venerable museum, flanked by lush greenery and sleek skyscrapers.
Needless to say, the exhibit makes a really fun date night.
You can get drinks and chips, and watch the sun set. Also, since the rooftop closes 45 minutes earlier than the museum, you can stroll around inside the museum afterward. Always such a thrill.
It’s weirdly hard to find the hours on the Met’s site, so here you are: The rooftop cafe is open Sundays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Have you been already? Will you check it out? I’d highly recommend it!
P.S. Swings, fountains, and the Cup of Jo Guide to NYC.
(Photos by Rebecca Zeller, a photographer and friend who also wrote the post 10 Surprising Things About Parenting in Norway. Top photo courtesy of the Met. For those who asked, my jacket is from Madewell.)
