Spring Is In The Air - 2010 MACY'S FLOWER SHOW (New York's Herald Square)

Window display (clouds made of white carnation)

Window display

Window display

Bouquet of the Day

Chloe display

The 2010 Macy's Flower Show goes on display beginning today at the flagship store at Herald Square through April 11. The department store is transformed into a wonderland of beautiful gardens. This year's show features different garden environments including palm and topiary gardens and over 30,000 varieties of exotic trees and flowering plants. This year's Flower Show has a new centerpiece -- a magnificent hot air balloon that reaches two stories high and features a gondola filled with spectacular flowers and greenery; it serves as a gateway to the indoor floral fantasyland near the Broadway Street entrance. Thousands of flowers, trees, shrubs and plants grace the gardens at this year's Flower Show. While oversized butterflies and dragonflies buzz-about and nearly 200 kites fly high above visitors in an arrangement of six archways along the main aisle. 
"Each year, Macy's signals the optimism and renewal that is the promise of a new season with its Spring Flower Show -- an epic event that transforms the store with a vast, rolling landscape of breathtaking color," says Robin Hall, Macy's executive producer of the annual event. "Macy's Flower Show is a massive undertaking involving a year of planning and preparation, and an army of talented people who lovingly gather, transport and plant thousands of brilliant plants and exotic trees to bring the spring season into full flower." The show also features local artists from the city's top floral design houses will showcase their individual artistry when each creates a one-of-a-kind floral-themed masterpiece known as "Bouquet of the Day."

Antony Gormley's Nude Sculpture at the Flatiron District's Madison Square Park

Gormley's nude sculpture with the Empire State Building in the background

The sculpture and the Flatiron Building

One of the 31 body form sculptures by artist ANTONY GORMLEY is installed at Madison Square Park in Manhattan's Flatiron District, right in front of the iconic Flatiron Building. The sculpture is part of an outdoor exhibition called Event Horizon, which runs from March 26 through August 15. The nude sculpture is made of iron, cast from Gormley's own body. The 31 life-size iron and fiberglass figures are scattered in peripheral areas of the park - rooftops and nearby sidewalks streaming with pedestrians. Antony Gormley (born 1950) is an English sculptor. 

Sixth Annual Brooklyn Academy of Music BAMart Silent Auction: Artwork Selection on View at Bergdorf Goodman

On display at the Bergdorf Goodman window on Fifth Avenue and 58th Street is a selection of artwork from the Brooklyn Academy of Music silent art auction. The works of artists like Arturo Gomez Guerra, Jim Gaylord, Tom Burckhardt, Louise Belcourt, Erik Hanson, Patrick McMullan, Lauren Luloff, Jim Napierala, Lisa Kereszi, Saya Woolfalk, and Colleen Plumb, among others are featured in the display. Bidding ends on March 28th. For a complete list of works on view at Bergdorf Goodman, click here.

This year’s Honorary Artist Chair Shirin Neshat says, “BAM is a jewel of an institution that continues to redefine our contemporary culture by showcasing the best new experiments in dance, in theatre, music, and in cinema. We need to support BAM so it could carry on challenging its artists, audience and donors to keep exploring and discovering new talents and directions.”

BAMart is one of the programs of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance.

CORBIN BLEU: From High School Musical to Broadway

Film and television star CORBIN BLEU marks his Broadway debut in the Tony Award winning musical, IN THE HEIGHTS. He plays the role of Washington Heights bodega owner and musical powerhouse, Usnavi through April 25 only. These photos were taken outside the stagedoor of the Richard Rodgers Theatre at 226 West 46th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue) on March 21, 2010. 

Mr. Bleu's stage credits include Off-Broadway's Tiny Tim is Dead and Brothers of the Knight. He attended the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and the LA County High School for the Arts. Bleu played Chad Danforth in "High School Musical," "High School Musical 2," and the film High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Other feature films include Free Style, Catch That Kid, Soldier, Galaxy Quest, Mystery Men. Bleu starred in the TV shows "The Beautiful Life" and "Flight 29 Down." He has two solo albums, Speed of Light and Another Side, which both led to national tours. 

Video posted by InTheHeightsBroadway

In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan's Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. In 2008, the musical won 4 Tony Awards (Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography, and Best Orchestrations). 

The New York Public Library

Main Reading Room

Entrance to the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room from McGraw Rotunda

Artwork at McGraw Rotunda

Artwork at McGraw Rotunda

Artwork at McGraw Rotunda

Artwork at McGraw Rotunda

Artwork on the Ceiling at McGraw Rotunda

Fifth Avenue Entrance, Astor Hall

Astor Hall

Astor Hall

Astor Hall

View of the Empire State Building through a window of the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room

Located on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, the New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building) is the only facility of its kind, with both world-class research and circulating collections that are free and open to the general public. Now in its second century, the library offers services at 4 major research centers and a network of neighborhood libraries throughout Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. Above are some of the images that I made of the magnificent interior and artwork when I visited the library for the first time.