Ukrainian Museum: 6th St between 2nd and 3rd Aves

The Ukrainian Museum is a beautiful contemporary building in the lower east side that was completed in 2005.  Currently there are exhibits about Ukrainian weddings and the clothes, wreaths, breads, head wraps, and ritual cloths related to Ukrainian weddings; the art and writings of Sviatoslav Hordynsky; and, of course, the famous Pysanka eggs from all the regions of the Ukraine. 

The textiles are colorful and beautifully decorated with embroidery and ribbons.  However, more than just pretty to look at, they embody the Ukrainian belief in warding off evil with good luck symbols in the decorations and positive thoughts of the maker while she is embroidering or embellishing.  The traditions and details vary from region to region (see right and left), but they all include emblems intended to protect the wearers. 

There are displays related to the decoration and giving of handkerchiefs from single women to single men to signify interest and courting.  There are blessed elaborate wedding breads decorated with ribbons and twisted knot birds made out of dough (see below). 

Really, all of this exhibit is a feast for the eyes and shouldn't be missed, but unfortunately it seems it usually is.  The receptionist seemed shocked to see me and when I told her I had discovered the museum's existence online, she was so pleased and surprised she couldn't do enough to make me feel welcome.  As the only visitor to the 3 story museum at the time of my visit, I was a little saddened by the lack of visitors much the way I was about the Hispanic Society of America.

Upstairs there is an exhibit that displays the breadth and depth of Sviatoslav Hordynsky, a talented Ukrainian artist and writer.  There are numerous works in a variety of styles--from German Expressionism, to Picasso-like cubism, delicate gestural and detailed watercolors (see left), and religious studies that were later used in the most famous piece by Hordynsky, the mosaic murals in St. Sophia Cathedral in Rome (see right).  I had never heard of this artist before, but I can assure you that I will be on the lookout going forward.

Finally, the piece de resistance, is their small but beautifully displayed collection of Pysanka eggs (see below).  If you are not careful, you could miss the whole thing.  They are in a small side room just inside the front doors on the left before you get to the admissions desk.  The eggs decorated using a wax-resist process, vary from region to region of the Ukraine, but are all decorated with the traditional symbols like eternity (never ending connected lines), the sun (circles, broken crosses, or stars with up to 8 points), triangles, animals, and nature (leaves, flowers, or trees) to protect and bring good fortune to the recipient of these eggs. Although now just decorative, originally they were thought of as talisman. 

If you find yourself in the Lower East Side, stop by the Ukrainian Museum and you won't be disappointed.

Tenement Museum: Orchard and Delancey Streets

The word "tenement" brings to mind dirty and dark over-crowded spaces, perhaps lacking indoor plumbing, and impoverished immigrants.  The tours at the Tenement Museum in the lower east side do not white-wash the realities from 97 Orchard Street, which was built as a tenement apartment for 20 families in 1863 and operated through 1935.  Rather, they provide a fuller picture of what it must have been like to live there throughout the years.

I took the "Getting By" tour (one of several available--check out the various tour descriptions and times at Tenement Museum) and learned about 2 tenant families living in the house after the crash of 1873 and the after WWII and during the Great Depression. 

It was truly humbling to see an apartment re-created to the early years of the building.  Visiting the restored homes of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family, we heard about the patriarch abandoning the mother and 4 children during the Panic of 1873.  Through public documents, the museum researchers were able to find out that after the father disappeared the youngest child died before reaching his second birthday.  However, the story was ultimately one of triumph.  The mother/homemaker was able to secure a loan, start a sewing business and raise her three other children to maturity.  An interesting addition to the story is that about a year and a half ago, a visitor to the museum who is a historian/genealogist was able to identify that the Gumpertz father had moved to the mid-west and died there in his 70s.

The second apartment on the tour was one that was the home of the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family, who lived through the Great Depression. What was so special about this part of the tour was that the the museum was able to contact the daughter who grew up in the apartment (recently deceased but who had been living in Brooklyn, NY) and have her record her memories of living in this apartment.  You really can get a sense of what it was like for this family four to live in the 3-room apartment with shared toilets down the hall (at least an improvement from the 4 outhouses that the Gumpertz family used -- see left).  Also quite heartening was the clear expression of the Gumpertz's American pride.  Remember in WWII the US joined the Allied Forces so the Gumpertz family had to decide whether to support America or Italy--they adamantly chose their adopted home, the US.  You can see a faded embroidered pillow of the American flag in the main living room and the prominent picture of FDR in the corner.

After the tour, I was tempted to go on another tour, but time was running short so instead I watched some of the 30 minute informative film made by the History Channel at the visitor center (very unassuming and easy to miss -- see right; they are building a new larger one currently across the street) and then headed home.  What a great afternoon "re-living" history.